Yard Waste

To catch some local ne'er-do-wells in the act, Taneytown officials might place a security camera in what has become a prime spot for rule-breakers: the local mulch pile.Instead of curbside service to pick up grass clippings, leaves and small branches, Carroll County and some of its towns have residents drop off yard waste at mulch piles. Every so often, a shredder is brought in to grind the material, and residents get free bags of mulch.The mulch pile operated without much trouble for 10 years.

An Anne Arundel County councilman, who is honorary chairman of a fans organization pushing for construction of an auto racetrack in Pasadena, introduced zoning legislation last night that would allow the track in his district.The bill, introduced by Councilman Thomas W. Redmond, is written to apply only to the state-owned former copper refinery on which the Middle River Racing Association hopes to build a $100 million speedway.It would allow "motor sports racing complexes" on land zoned for heavy industry.

The once malodorous compost yard shared by Anne Arundel, Howard and Baltimore counties has been turned into a transfer station for yard clippings, and all three counties recently approved selling most of the 54-acre Jessup/Hanover property.But the counties still have to shell out interest payments, which will total $2.8 million by the time bonds on the property are paid off in 2005. Anne Arundel's share of that is about $1.4 million, according to County Auditor Teresa Sutherland.Anne Arundel County Councilman Thomas W. Redmond has long been skeptical about a deal that burdened the county with 50 percent of liability for a project and didn't allow private composters a share in handling yard waste.

The once malodorous compost yard shared by Anne Arundel, Howard and Baltimore counties has been turned into a transfer station for yard clippings, and all three counties recently approved selling most of the 54-acre Jessup/Hanover property.But the counties still have to pay interest that will total $2.8 million by the time bonds on the property are paid off in 2005. Anne Arundel's share of that will be about $1.4 million, according to County Auditor Teresa Sutherland.Anne Arundel County Councilman Thomas W. Redmond Sr. has long been skeptical about a deal that burdened the county with 50 percent of the liability for the project and didn't allow private composters a share in handling yard waste.

Howard County's recycling program, built on the premise of saving money while saving the environment, has reached a crisis: It will soon cost more to recycle cans, bottles and yard waste than to bury them in a landfill.That doesn't mean residents should start tossing their cola bottles and grass cuttings into the trash. County officials and recycling experts say market forces could restore the profitability of recyclables in just a few months.But for now, the problem spotlights an economic quandary at the heart of the recycling revolution across the nation: Can the demand for recyclables keep pace with the ever-growing supply?

THE END OF leaf and grass composting at Maryland Environmental Service's facility in Dorsey will be good news for nearby residents, oppressed by horrific smells.The news is not so comforting, however, for the three county governments that joined in a regional plan to process their yard waste on an industrial parcel on the Anne Arundel-Howard county line. Closure of the plant means the cost of disposing of tTC leaves and grass clippings is likely to rise for Anne Arundel, Howard and Baltimore counties.

A Howard County state senator is calling for the closure of a troubled regional composting facility and demanding that its Dorsey site be sold for another use.Composting operations at the facility -- which has been blamed for emitting noxious smells and causing health problems for nearby residents -- were suspended in November. It has since become a transfer station for yard waste.But residents say that foul smells have continued to come from the 56-acre, $5.9 million regional yard-debris facility that opened 15 months ago on the border between Howard and Anne Arundel counties.

Howard County's strict new trash policy -- the toughest of any county in the Baltimore area -- is showing early signs of getting residents to recycle more and throw away less.In the four full months since the new policy took effect in July, the amount of trash collected by the county decreased by 13 percent compared with a year ago, while total recyclables -- glass, bottles, paper and yard waste -- increased by 45 percent.County officials caution that data from just a few months can be misleading, particularly for a period when publicity about the program was strong and Howard's yard-waste recycling program expanded dramatically.

Howard County's strict new trash policy -- the toughest of any county in the Baltimore area -- is showing early signs of getting residents to recycle more and throw away less.In the four full months since the new policy took effect in July, the amount of trash collected by the county decreased by 13 percent compared with a year ago, while total recyclables -- glass, bottles, paper and yard waste -- increased by 45 percent.County officials caution that data from just a few months can be misleading, particularly for a period when publicity about the program was strong and Howard's yard-waste recycling program expanded dramatically.

MARYLAND ENVIRONMENTAL Service apparently has decided to throw in the towel on its ill-starred regional yard waste facility in Dorsey.What had been designed as a composting plant will now become a mere transfer station for trash. Leaves, grass clippings and other yard waste will be collected at the plant, but then shipped to other MES facilities for composting.Declaring this ambitious experiment a failure may be premature, but the project has certainly fallen far short of expectations.Since opening 13 months ago, the 56-acre facility has been plagued by operating problems.