ZWMC History

Prior Zero Waste Planning in Montgomery County

Before Zero Waste Montgomery County was formed, Sugarloaf Citizens Association (SCA) had been working for years on the issue of closing the trash incinerator which is the largest polluter in Montgomery County. Following a massive waste pile fire that burned for nearly two weeks in late 2016, Mike Ewall at Energy Justice Network started working with SCA. Additionally, Montgomery County Sierra Club raised concerns about the fires at the Dickerson incinerator. The Department of Environmental Protection and the MD Department of the Environment oversaw corrective action by Covanta at the incinerator to improve safety. Primarily, the volume of trash on the tipping floor is now required to be much less than at the time of the fire.

The Dickerson Area Facilities Implementation Group (DAFIG) is a county advisory group composed of citizens and stakeholders who provide oversight of industrial operations. This group meets with and receives reports on a quarterly basis from the four industrial operations located in Dickerson – the incinerator, the GenOn Energy Plant, the County Yard Trim Composting Facility operated by Montgomery Environmental Services (MES) and the Terra Energy site, planned future home of a data center. ZWMC follows this group’s activity as well as the Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC), another key county-sanctioned oversight group comprised of stakeholders and citizens.

Lauren Greenberger, former president and current vice president of Sugarloaf Citizens Association (SCA) and a current member of ZWMC, was included in the “Aiming for Zero Waste” Task Force convened by then County Executive Ike Leggett. The Task Force provided recommendations to County Executive Marc Elrich in May 2020. The Task Force met with the County Council’s Transportation and Environment Committee in December 2020 to provide an overview of Task Force recommendations.

Our advocacy group formed in January 2021

The Zero Waste Montgomery County group was formed in January 2021. At the request of County Executive Elrich, the group researched and published the report “Beyond Incineration: Best Waste Management Strategies for Montgomery County, Maryland”. The principal author was Mike Ewall of Energy Justice Network.

In December 2021, County Executive Marc Elrich notified the County Council of his intention to close the incinerator within 12-18 months.

In 2022 the County Executive hired a coalition of national zero waste experts, led by Ruth Abbe of Zero Waste USA, to develop a roadmap for the county to reach a goal of zero waste. Their report “Closing Montgomery County’s Incinerator and Implementing Zero Waste” was released in December 2022. Zero Waste Montgomery County collaborated with this coalition on the report.

Zero Waste Montgomery County launched the website www.zwmc.org in June 2023 to inform the public about the ongoing challenges to close the incinerator and move toward comprehensive Zero Waste planning in Montgomery County.

Collaborating with the Community in 2024-2025

The Zero Waste Montgomery County core team has welcomed new members in 2024 to bring the advocacy efforts to a new level by building a wider coalition, targeting new audiences and implementing new strategies.

Zero Waste Montgomery County has built relationships with various organizations in Montgomery County who all support the closure of the incinerator:

• Climate Coalition Montgomery County (a Coalition with more than 20 organizations and individual members)

• Sierra Club Montgomery County Group

• 350 Montgomery County

• Sugarloaf Citizens Association

• Moms Clean Air Force

• Montgomery Countryside Alliance

Zero Waste Montgomery County attended Poolesville Day in September 2024 to educate the public about the trash incinerator located just six miles from the popular event. The team has been grateful for the wide support at the event and will keep its subscribers updated on the latest news.

As the County Executive and DEP announced on November 25th 2024 the plan to write an emergency extension of the contract to continue with waste incineration beyond the current contract end date of April 2026, Zero Waste Montgomery County has reached out to all Councilmembers to request a Public Hearing. County Council held a briefing on January 28, 2025, to discuss the extension of the contract for incineration. Documents can be found on the Council website. County Council had a Public Hearing on the Solid Waste Management Plan update on February 11, 2025, where ZWMC, and many other community partners testified to request a Public Hearing on the extension of the contract for incineration.

Zero Waste Montgomery County continues working with the County Executive’s office, Montgomery County Councilmembers, the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, Energy Justice Network, the Climate Coalition Montgomery County, and various other organizations and volunteers to move towards Zero Waste and away from trash incineration.