Roadside Litter Cleanup in Carroll County on April 11, 2026

Before the growing grass makes it harder to spot litter, join Sierra Club Catoctin Group for a roadside trash cleanup along Sam's Creek Road on Saturday, April 11, 2026 from 10:00am-12:00pm.  We will continue to collect data about the amount of beverage containers we pick up in support of a bottle bill!  Visit our Calendar page to register and for more details about this event.

Come Learn about Green Burials on May 21, 2026

It may be a subject most people try to avoid, but as the saying goes, "Nothing is certain except death and taxes."  Unfortunately, conventional methods of dealing with end-of-life and final resting places come with environmental costs. Join us for our presentation by Morris Orchard Natural Burials on Thursday, May 21, 2026, 6pm at Attaboy Beer in Frederick.  Food truck on site!

See our Calendar page to register for this and all our Events, Meetings, and Outings.

Questions? Send us an email at catoctingroup@mdsierra.org.

Upcoming Meetings

Our next Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday, April 21 at 7:00pm online.  Everyone is welcome to attend!  Visit our Calendar page to register for the meeting link.  

Tell FERC: Don't let Big Tech's data centers increase power costs and compromise the grid!

PJM, the regional organization that is in charge of the power distribution across the mid-Atlantic region, is seeking approval from FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) for how it handles large load additions. Currently, the vast majority of these new large load additions are coming from Big Tech's drive to build out AI data centers. We want smart planning to determine what the future of our electric system looks like, not dystopian futures where families go without electricity to power Big Tech’s data centers.  

Tell FERC that Big Tech must foot their own bill for power-hungry data centers. No data center development should be allowed to undermine state clean energy policies, and our future bulk power system should not be built to serve Big Tech at the expense of families. Add your name to the petition now!

Maryland Needs a Bottle Bill NOW!!

The Maryland Beverage Container Recycling Refund and Litter Reduction Program legislation is trying to work it's way through the Maryland General Assembly.  Our group's many trash cleanups have demonstrated exactly why this bill is so important for reducing litter in our environment.  For those of you living in Carroll County in Legislative District 5, one of your delegates April Rose is on the Economic Matters committee, where the bill is currently being held up.  For Frederick County residents, if you are in Legislative District 4, your delegate Jesse Pippy is also on the Economic Matters committee. If you agree that this bill is important for Maryland, please contact Delegates Rose and Pippy and let them know you want them to support it.  The deadline for getting through the state House of Delegates is Monday, March 30, so call or email today!

Click here to find your legislators and their contact information.  You can visit our Issues-Zero Waste page for the Bottle Bill Fact Sheet.

Data Center Referendum Good News Update!

Thank you to all the Frederick County residents who came out to sign the petition!  The Frederick County Data Center Referendum Committee, an all-volunteer group, collected over 20,000 signatures (many more than the 15,000 required!) from registered voters by the March 15 deadline. This is a strong message from Frederick County residents that they should be allowed a voice when it comes to lands and water.  Thank you to Sierra Club Catoctin Group members who supported this effort.  We have more work to do, but for now, enjoy this moment, it is precedent setting for our area. 

Visit our Issues - Frederick and Carroll Counties Development page for  more information about the referendum.

Join Beyond Plastics in their campaign to stop using plastic in children's clothes 

Most clothing is made with plastic, and plastic is made with more than 16,000 chemicals, more than a quarter of which are known to be toxic to humans. Babies and kids are most vulnerable to these chemicals because their brains and organs are still developing, the dosage is higher because they are smaller, and they tend to put their hands and clothing in their mouths. 

Join Beyond Plastics in urging three top children's clothing-makers to stop using toxic plastic in their products.

Unfortunately, more and more clothing for babies and kids is made out of polyester - a form of plastic that includes many chemicals of concern. A recent 2025 report by Defenders of Health found that many of the chemicals used in polyester — including phthalates, bisphenols, and flame retardants — are known “endocrine disrupters” that interfere with the body’s hormonal system, which is essential to a child’s development. Exposure to endocrine disrupters, even at low levels, can have long-lasting consequences in children.

Please sign the petition urging children's clothing makers Carter's, H&M, and The Children's Place to stop using so much of this toxic plastic in their products. Add your name to the petition here.

Native Plant Month in Maryland

Greater Baltimore Group Sierra Club is working with Garden Clubs of America to get a state bill passed to make every May Native Plant Month in Maryland.  Want to help?  Click here to sign on to a letter of support!  Or write to the Governor and your state legislators telling them you would like to see this bill passed in the 2026 legislative session.

 

Why Plant Natives?  See our Blog post for some reasons why we should be using more of these beautiful and functional plants especially adapted to Maryland's climate conditions!

Trash Cleanups in Frederick and Carroll Counties

Sierra Club Catoctin Group held it's first trash cleanup of the year on Saturday, March 14 along Ballinger Creek Pike in Frederick County, continuing our efforts from two litter cleanups last fall.   We're continuing to collect data showing how the beverage containers littering our landscape are the reason why Maryland needs a Bottle Bill now!!

A Walk Through Time on the C&O Canal

On Saturday, December 13, 9 people (and a few dogs) met at Lander Boat Ramp, Jefferson, MD, to explore the variety of vegetation, an aqueduct, and lock house on the historic C&O canal towpath.  The weather was perfect for a 3.5 mile hike along this beautiful section of the path.  We learned about some of the invasive plants causing issues in the park, as well as steps that are being taken to control them.   It was a great first outing, and we are looking forward to many more.  

See our Calendar page for more information on all our events.

2025 Roundup

Last year was another busy one for the Catoctin Group.  In addition to reaching out to the community to increase engagement with our group, we spent much of our efforts on spreading the word about the Bottle Bill, which we hope to get passed in Maryland this year.

We set up tables at many Frederick and Carroll County events, such as for Environmental Symposiums, Westminster Flower and Jazz Fest, and Frederick Pride.

Our main focus in 2025 continued to be promoting passage of a Beverage Container Deposit bill.  Although it did not pass in the 2025 Legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly, it did get a hearing in committee and passed the Environment and Transportation Committee.  This year we are redoubling our efforts and will go all out to push bill across the finish line in 2026!  If you would like to help get this bill passed, please contact your municipal leaders and state legislators and let them know!  You can also reach out to us for more information or to get involved.

This fall we hosted two film screenings and discussion panels, showing the award-winning documentary "Plastic People: The Hidden Crisis of Microplastics."  The film proved to be eye-opening for many members of the community who attended and were not aware of the extent to which microplastics are affecting our health.

We participated in trash cleanups along the waterways and roadways to demonstrate the amount of beverage containers that never get recycled but should be.  Jurisdictions that have beverage container deposits in place see a large decrease in the amount of waste in the environment.  We need such a bill to protect our beautiful state. 

In the spring we hosted a tour of the water treatment plant in Brunswick, MD.  It was fascinating to see how our household water is processed!  

This fall saw the return of Outings for the Catoctin Group, which is very exciting!  Our first outing in a long time was a lovely walk along the C&O Canal to learn some of the history of the canal, as well as about the natural environment in the Canal National Park.  We now have two certified Outings Leaders, and hope to schedule several more outings this year.  

We hosted two social gatherings at Attaboy Beer in Frederick this year, starting with a presentation on Data Centers and Transmission Lines in January, and then in September, a presentation on Replacing Your Lawn with more environmentally-friendly options.  Both were well attended and informative!

Also this fall, some of us surveyed grocery stores in Montgomery County to provide "Before" data for Montgomery County's Plastic Bag ban, which went into effect January 1, 2026.  This data will be compared to another survey to be performed later this year, which should demonstrate how effective a good plastic bag ban is at reducing the number of single-use plastic bags in the environment.  The hope is that this data will help us implement similar ordinances to encourage everyone in Frederick and Carroll Counties (and eventually the entire state) to bring reusable bags and eliminate all Single Use Plastic Bags.  

We also participate in Lobby Night every year in February, which gives us a chance to present the Sierra Club priority bills to our state legislators.  We would always love to have more people participating in that, so get in touch if you are interested in helping promote environmental legislation.

For 2026 we have scheduled several outreach events, and will be adding more outside activities and social outings. See our Calendar of planned activities, and check back for updates. We’d love to have you join us!