Zero Waste

Prince George's County passes a “Better Bag Bill” to  reduce plastic bag pollution and incentivize reuse! 

Allentown Road
Allentown Road near
Camp Springs
Photo: Terry Stakem

         On June 20, 2023 The Prince George’s County Council passed the “Better Bag Bill”, which will dramatically reduce litter from plastic carryout bags and increase the use of reusable bags or no bag across the County.  CB-32-2023 prohibits retailers from providing plastic carryout bags at the point of sale, and requires retailers to charge and retain at least 10 cents for alternative carryout bags.  The objective of the charge for paper and other carryout bags is to incentivize customers to bring their own bag or not take a bag. The charge is retained by retailers to pay for paper or other carryout bags. Shoppers who bring their own bag or don’t take a bag will not have to purchase a carryout bag. The bill’s provisions will go into effect on January 1, 2024.

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Single-use Food Service Ware only “On Request” in PGC as of June 1, 2023!

https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/default/files/sce/prince-georges-group/Disposable%20food%20service%20ware%20photo_cropped.jpg          Are you frustrated with all of the unwanted single-use utensils, condiments, and other stuff thrown in your takeout, drive-through, and home delivery food orders? On June 1st, 2023, a new County bill, CB-14-2022, goes into effect, requiring food service businesses to provide straws, utensils, condiment cups and packets, cup sleeves, splash sticks, stirrers, and napkins only if requested by the customer or at a self-service dispenser. The program will reduce waste, litter, and costs to restaurants. Read more

Municipalities can compost food scraps too!

Prince George’s County is expanding residential curbside composting in unincorporated areas, but what about people who live in municipalities?   Not to worry.  You and your municipality also have options – backyard composting, drop-off collection points for food scraps, or municipal curbside food scrap collection.  Learn more about these options by viewing two webinars, sponsored by the Prince George’s Sierra Club and Sustainable Maryland.

College Park Drop-Off Point(1) Roundtable on Food Scrap Options for Municipalities, December 2, 2021:You’ll hear about the environmental and financial benefits from diverting food scraps, local providers of composting services, and the experience of several municipalities that have already set up programs.You’ll hear about the environmental and financial benefits from diverting food scraps, local providers of recycling services, and the experience of several municipalities that have already set up programs. Speakers included representatives from Backyardcompost.com, The Compost Crew, Prince George’s County Department of the Environment, College Park, and Greenbelt.   

(2) Municipal Curbside Food Scrap Collection Experience in Prince George's County, May 11, 2022

For a deeper dive into curbside food scrap collection, this panel discussion features speakers from three Prince George’s municipalities that already offer curbside food scrap collection their residents.  Speakers include:  Lesley Riddle, Director of Public Works, Hyattsville; Mickey Beall, Director of Public Works, University Park; and Ashleigh Diaz, Sustainability Planner, Bowie.

Take a virtual tour of the Prince George's County Recycling Facility!

Packaging at MRF

Ever wonder where your curbside recyclables go and where they end up? Take a virtual tour of the Prince George's County single-stream Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) in Capitol Heights!  Get updates on what can be recycled at the MRF, how new optical scanner will change operations, and recent developments in the recycling markets. Read More

 

Prince George’s County’s ban on straws and stirrers that are not home-compostable took effect July 1st, 2020!      

Plastic Straws

County residents use an estimated 1.36 million straws/day.  Most are single-use plastic straws, which are not recyclable and are thrown in the trash or littered in our beaches, streets, parks, and waterways.  Plastic straws are among the top 10 items collected in beach cleanups.  Whether made from petroleum- or plant-based polymers, they do not decompose in the natural environment, but break into ever smaller pieces, polluting the water and harming marine life.  The small plastic particles stay in the environment for centuries or more, and work their way up our food chain. Read More

Help us spread the word!  Print out the County's flyer for businesses to share the next time you encounter a business still using plastic straws!  Download our flyerFor more information, go to the County’s Straw Ban Website.  

Prince George's Sierra Club weighs in on the County's Draft 2020-2029 Solid Waste Management Plan

          At the July 20, 2020 hearing before the  County Council, the Prince George's Sierra Club offered comments on the draft 10-Year Solid Waste Management Plan 2020-2029.  The Club advocated for a stronger Action Plan with a timeline for delivery of key components, among them:
  • Monitoring of and reduction of methane emissions from the County landfill; 
  • Commitment to diversion of organic waste from the landfill via expanded curbside food scrap collection and better access to community composting;
  • Adoption of a detailed, time-bound, cost-effective, measurable, participatory, and innovative Zero Waste Plan.
You can access the Prince George's Sierra Club's comments HERE.
 

Field trips energize Prince George’s Group’s “Zero Waste” campaign

More than three dozen Prince George’s activists participated in field trips to the county landfill, the single-stream recycling center, and the yard waste and pilot composting facility to learn about waste reduction efforts.  What did they take away?  Read More

Caption: A tractor spreads trash at the Prince George’s landfill in Upper Marlboro.
Credit: Tom Wachs

Key Prince George's County documents on Waste

Zero Waste Initiatives, April 2018 
 
Note: An update of this plan for 2020-2029 is nearly finalized and will appear here when complete.
 

Important County Government links