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Carroll County could curb a tipping fee increase if it raised the charge to dump construction debris at landfills and levied a charge on yard waste, the county comptroller said yesterday.But the county commissioners weren't ready to make a decision about increasing the $40-per-ton fee, which they must do to comply with new government accounting standards that require the county to charge a fee high enough to pay for future costs.Instead, Commissioner Julia W. Gouge asked Comptroller Eugene C. Curfman to gather more information about how a system of charging by the bag instead of the ton could work in Carroll.

Talk about leading by example -- the Maryland Department of the Environment announced Monday that it would begin collecting food scraps at its Baltimore headquarters for composting. The Earth Day announcement comes on the heels of Howard County launching its own food-scrap processing facility, which I covered here for The Baltimore Sun. MDE will give its 900-plus employees the option to compost their uneaten food at the agency's main offices in Montgomery Park. Officials there say they hope in the effort's inaugural year to divert more than 6 tons of waste that might otherwise have gone to an incinerator or landfill.

After several hours of planning yesterday morning, the carcass of a young female fin whale was hoisted from its overnight berth at the Dundalk Marine Terminal, dumped into a large truck and carted off to a landfill, where scientists took her measurements and samples of her skin and blubber.The whale weighed 16 1/2 tons and was 43 feet long, said John Jarkowiec, senior mammalogist at the National Aquarium at Baltimore. Aquarium staff members worked at the Quarantine Road landfill with a mammalogist from the Smithsonian Institution, where the information will be cataloged.

Harford County Public Library employees added creativity to their participation in the Harford County government's Harvest for the Hungry food collection campaign which ran March 1-8, collecting nearly a ton of food for local food banks in the process. The library system held a contest for its own employees to create the most creative food collection themes and displays. Overall, Harford County Public Library employees collected 1,810 pounds of food to be donated to the Harford Community Action Agency, which provides food for those in need through its own pantry and through distribution to other local nonprofits.

The Carroll County Commissioners voted unanimously yesterday to raise the fee for dumping in landfills by $5 a ton July 1.The increase is $4 a ton less than the county comptroller had recommended to keep the operation in line with accounting standards.Bond rating agencies and an association that rates the county's financial matters are likely to notice that the commissioners disregarded his advice, Comptroller Eugene C. Curfman said.The commissioners may have to raise the fee again next year, unless the amount of trash dumped in the landfill is drastically reduced, he said.

A Catonsville community's cleanup project has turned into a $25-a-ton wrangle with county government.Now the Old Catonsville Neighborhood Association (OCNA) says the cleanup planned for Saturday may have to be canceled.Maureen Sweeney Smith, who organized the OCNA cleanup, said the group was hoping residents would dispose of unsightly debris, and to comply with county zoning and code regulations.A local company was donating a dump truck for four hours.The problem was where the dump truck would have to haul the trash -- the convenient Western Landfill about six miles away in Halethorpe, or Eastern Landfill in White Marsh about 35 miles distant, Mrs. Smith said.

Taneytown City Council has awarded a three-year contract for trash removal to BFI, a move that will save the city about $20 per ton of garbage.BFI will transport the city's trash to a private landfill in Greencastle, Pa., instead of the Carroll County landfill. The contract becomes effective July 1.The Pennsylvania landfill charges $28.25 per ton, compared with the $47 per ton that will be charged at the county landfill beginning July 1. The County Commissioners recently raised the rate $2 a ton.BFI will charge the city an average of $5.59 a month per customer to collect trash and recyclable materials.

Setting next year's fees for dumping waste at the county's landfills will be no easy task. The commissioners must choose among a number of less-than-desirable alternatives that will result in larger fees than those of last year. The question before the commissioners is deciding how to allocate the increases.Under the accounting standards applicable to municipal governments, landfill fees must not only cover their current operating costs but the expense of closing them. The county's current tipping fee of $40 a ton -- which is charged to towns and haulers and then passed on to customers -- is insufficient, according to County Comptroller Eugene C. Curfman.

An increase in the city's tipping fee prompted Havre de Grace City Council members to encourage residents to recycle more. The Havre de Grace City Council unanimously passed a resolution during Monday's meeting to raise the town's tipping fee to $15.50 per quarter from $12.25 per quarter - or a hike of $13 a year. The tipping fee, which is a quarterly charge to cover Harford County's per ton costs for use of landfills, was increased to cover the county's charges, which has risen to $67 per ton of solid waste from $50 per ton. City Councilman Randolph Craig said the past quarterly charge of $12.25 had "nearly" covered the town's costs to dispose of solid waste, but not all of it. The projected increases in costs per ton, the councilman said, are $68 in 2012, $70 in 2013 and $72 per ton in 2014.

75 Years Ago* The South River Tomato Growers Association of Anne Arundel County has reached the conclusion that tomatoes could not be produced this year for less than $25 a ton to the packers. Pre-war prices were $12 to $15 a ton. -- The Sun, April 1, 1919.* Jack Dunn's young Baltimore Orioles defeated the Annapolis Midshipmen this afternoon by a score of 8-2. It was a practice game for both teams. -- The Sun, April 2, 1919.* Fire partially destroyed the paint shop of Edward Hutton on Drake and Gloucester streets in Annapolis tonight with damage of $1,500.

Harford County government employees collected more than three tons of food during a one-week drive to aid Harvest for the Hungry, which concluded Friday. In all, 6,200 pounds of non-perishable food were collected during the drive that began March 1 to coincide with the start of the annual campaign to replenish area food banks, including one run locally by the nonprofit Harford Community Action Agency. As in past years, the county departments competed among each other to see which one could collect the most food.

The Ravens coaching staff might be a victim of the front office's success and its ability to draft or sign good players. You never hear John Harbaugh mentioned as a possible NFL Coach of the Year. Brian Billick was never a serious candidate either, even though he had a good run in Baltimore from 1999 until 2008. Few of the experts expected the Ravens to win the AFC North, much less play in the Super Bowl in New Orleans. A 9-7 or 8-8 record was a more realistic possibility. Miracles still happen.

Reaching way back in a kitchen cabinet, I grab a jar of what's billed as orange marmalade. It's really not marmalade, just sugar glop without any orange in it at all, masquerading as the real thing. It was a "bonus" in a crate of Florida citrus we got a while back. We ate the grapefruit and oranges ages ago, but at this point it's clear no one in our family is ever going to touch that alleged marmalade. I toss it. I've been reading recently about how much food is wasted by the average American family.

As state officials unveiled a giant statue of a crash test dummy at its new home in Glen Burnie Tuesday, they deemed it "destined to be a regional landmark. " But towering at five times larger than life and weighing 2 tons, the bright-yellow tribute to safety drew fears it would become a regional source of rubbernecking. "We had a tremendous amount of thought about that," said John Kuo, administrator for the state Motor Vehicle Administration, whose headquarters became the dummy's final resting place.

Bargains fill the racks at the 45th annual Best Dressed Sale & Boutique this weekend in Baltimore. Every stitch has been donated to this high-end rummage sale that takes place in a cavernous carriage house, and all proceeds benefit Johns Hopkins Hospital. Shoppers could come across a Chanel suit, a Halston tuxedo or a pair of Prada shoes. They could walk away with a full-length mink, a glamorous gown or even a tiara without significantly lightening their wallets. "You will buy so much that you won't want to shop for a month after," said Cressy Spence, one of four co-chairwomen, adding that she speaks from experience.

A year after the rockfish season was cut short because recreational and commercial fishermen were charged with poaching with illegally tied-down gill nets, a bill proposing the ban of all gill nets in Maryland waterways will be considered by the General Assembly. Sponsored by the Maryland Saltwater Sportfishing Association and state Sen. Kathy Klausmeier, a Baltimore County Democrat, Senate Bill 1032 calls for the ban of gill nets whether they are weighted down or not. Gill nets are legal, but it has been illegal to hold the nets down with weights since 1985.

PITTSBURGH -- The steel industry will report lower third-quarter earnings as weak prices and higher costs offset relatively strong shipments.The industry has been noticeably resilient given the weak economy. Most steelmakers maintained high operating rates throughout the traditionally weak third quarter, and some are booked through the fourth quarter.Orders received through August totaled 88.9 million tons at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, compared with 84.1 million tons shipped last year.

An attorney for an international trash disposal corporation has lashed out at Howard County officials for negotiating with a Baltimore business that built a transfer station in Elkridge without county approval.William R. Winders Jr., area counsel for BFI Waste Systems of North America Inc., criticized the county for not terminating a five-year, $1.59 million contract with Partners Quality Recycling Services and reopening the bid process to collect the county's recyclables."We are very disappointed," Winders said during a telephone interview from BFI's Atlanta office.

Since the first Looney's Pub opened in Canton in 1993, co-owners Bill Larney and Steve Litrenta have been aggressively expanding the brand. The newest Looney's opened in College Park in October, following locations in Bel Air and Maple Lawn. But for Sunday's AFC title game, only the original will do. Fans will mob the Canton bar just as they did in 2010, the last (and only) time the Ravens have beaten the New England Patriots. You can count on the crowd being young, wildly enthusiastic and head-to-toe in purple.