ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today announced the latest expansion to the County’s Department of Public Works’ (DPW) Bureau of Environmental Services’ innovate “Feed the Green Bin” curbside food scrap collection program. This week, 10,250 households in the county’s Jessup, Long Reach, and Mt. Hebron neighborhoods will be receiving a postcard in the mail with instructions on how to sign up to participate in the program. The addition of these 10,000-plus eligible households will bring the program’s reach to more than 58,000 households countywide.
As we continue to make headway in implementing new and impactful environmental initiatives and progress toward energy independence, it’s important that we also continue to offer and expand transformational programs like ‘Feed the Green Bin,’ that are positively changing our daily lives. By further expanding this curbside food scrap collection, we are empowering more households to reduce waste, lower emissions, and contribute to a cleaner, greener future for our community. Every step we take toward waste diversion brings us one step closer to the best County for all.
In addition to the postcard, residents can also go online to the Bureau’s “Feed the Green Bin” website, where they will find a link to “Food Scrap Collection Program” sign-up webpage for the latest expansion. Eligible participating households may select either a 12-gallon or 35-gallon food scrap cart, to be delivered to their home starting the week of March 31st, with collection services beginning immediately.
Acceptable items for the green bin include fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, eggshells, dairy, bread, pasta, rice, baked goods, coffee grounds, paper towels, and tea bags to name a few. These items in total make up roughly 30 percent of the local solid waste stream. Collected material will be processed at the County’s Alpha Ridge Landfill’s Composting Facility and recycled into quality HoCoGro compost, available for sale to county residents and commercial entities.
This expansion reflects our dedication to innovative and sustainable waste management. By providing more households with access to curbside food scrap collection, we are not only reducing landfill waste but also creating valuable compost that benefits our community. We encourage all eligible residents to take advantage of this opportunity and join us in making Howard County a model for environmental stewardship.
In 2024, county residents diverted 8,800 tons of organic material from the landfill through this curbside collection program. An additional 22,000-plus tons of material was also dropped off last year directly at Alpha Ridge Landfill for composting.
For more information about the County’s “Feed the Green Bin” curbside food scrap collection program, visit www.howardcountymd.gov/bureau-environmental-services/feed-green-bin or contact the Bureau of Environmental Services at 410-313-6444 or email help@howardcountyrecycles.org.