Aiming For Zero Waste

The County is currently undertaking a robust analysis of alternative options for solid waste materials management and developing a number of expanded and new recycling and waste diversion programs. The analysis will quantify and compare the lifecycle costs, as well as qualitative advantages (benefits and opportunities) and disadvantages (including constraints/limitations and risks) associated with each of the operational options being considered; and document the assumptions and data on which the analysis is based.

The County awarded a contract task order to a national engineering firm, Arcadis, to conduct this independent and comprehensive analysis of viable options for the County’s solid waste management system. We are acutely aware of the April 2026 planned closure of the incinerator and the need to ensure that this analysis is completed timely. The final task order (PDF) was awarded on November 16 and includes a focus on analyzing the potential implementation of impact of technologies designed to reduce the residual waste that would need to be disposed of. This focus is an essential component of creating a plan forward for modernizing our solid waste management system to be more efficient and environmentally responsible. In brief, we needed to assume something other than a status quo system going forward.

The County has also engaged the services of Barton & Loguidice (B&L) to provide enhanced project implementation and management support. The program of projects that will be required to transform the County’s current solid waste system from the status quo to the system of the future will require resources not available to the County without this staff augmentation contract support. B&L and the County project management team will work together to transition the roadmap that will be identified through the Arcadis analysis and turn the roadmap into an actionable and aggressive implementation plan; and to implement that plan. We have engaged B&L to provide this enhanced level of project implementation support through calendar year 2026.

This analysis will provide the County key information needed to make informed, data-driven decisions as it develops and implements the County’s solid waste management system for the next 20-30 years. The analysis will provide a clear understanding of financial costs, environmental and public health impacts, racial and social justice implications, facility impacts, and operational concerns.

Specifically, the analysis will:

1. Identify viable alternative solid waste processing technologies in operation in other parts of the County that have both a demonstrated successful track record of being effective in diverting materials from residual waste and that are adaptable to the County’s waste processing system. This will also include a cost-benefit analysis of the technology.
2. Provide the County alternative waste processing systems – essentially combinations of the viable processing technologies identified above – from which the County will be able to select a preferred alternative system. This will include a comprehensive analysis of costs, benefits, and impacts of each alternative system processing system and “end-of-life” disposal methods (i.e., disposal of residual materials ultimately left in the waste stream following implementation of all diversion programs and technologies).
3. Result in the issuance of a request for proposals to implement and operate the selected technologies to maximize solid waste diversion and move the County forward on a path Aiming for Zero Waste.

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently awarded a task order to a national engineering firm, Arcadis, to conduct the comprehensive analysis of enhanced solid waste processing technologies. Arcadis brings a proven track record of assisting jurisdictions across the country in making locally based decisions based on current technology advancements and factors specific to each jurisdiction’s solid waste system and objectives.

The results of the Arcadis analysis will be shared with County officials, legislators, stakeholder groups and other interested parties. As noted above, Arcadis bring a proven track record of assisting jurisdictions across the country in making locally based decisions based on current technology advancements and factors specific to each jurisdiction’s solid waste system and objectives, as well as expertise in conducting economic and alternatives analyses to assist in the decision-making.

In addition to providing a foundation for decision-making on the future of the County’s solid waste management system, the analysis will be used to inform budget and resource planning, and procurement strategy and solicitations, and as the foundation for changes required to the County’s Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan that will be required to be approved by the County Council prior to submission to the Maryland Department of the Environment.

To achieve the goals set forth for the AZW initiative, there are multiple projects and changes the County is assessing and planning to implement in the future, including the following:

• Enhanced Organics Collection and Processing, including County-wide residential food scraps collection
• Save-as-You-Throw program
• Enhanced Mixed Waste Processing Technologies, designed to reduce the residual waste that must be disposed through landfilling or other means

Information regarding AZW projects and related analyses and reports can be found here:

• Save as You Throw for Montgomery County, Maryland: Feasability Assessment and Implementation Plan (PDF)
• Request for Expressions of Interest (REOI) Shady Grove Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Processing Facility and Transfer Station Adaptation; REOI# 1166232; issued January 26, 2024 
• Record of Meeting (PDF); MSW Management System Analysis – December 13, 2023, Stakeholder Meeting
• Montgomery County Organics Management Plan and Siting Study - Draft Final March 2024 (PDF)
• Aiming for Zero Waste Baseline Review and Current State Assesment (PDF)
• Aiming for Zero Waste Task Force Recommendations (PDF)