Mission Statement

The mission of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is to enhance the quality of life in our community by protecting and improving Montgomery County's air, water, and land in a sustainable way while fostering smart growth, a thriving economy, and healthy communities.

Budget Overview

The total approved FY19 Operating Budget for the Division of Solid Waste Services is $109,960,362, an increase of $13,416,987 or 13.90 percent from the FY18 Approved Budget of $96,543,375. Personnel Costs comprise 10.87 percent of the budget for 80 full-time position(s) and two part-time position(s), and a total of 106.24 FTEs. Total FTEs may include seasonal or temporary positions and may also reflect workforce charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 89.13 percent of the FY19 budget.

Linkage to County Result Areas

While this program area supports all eight of the County Result Areas, the following are emphasized:

• Healthy and Sustainable Neighborhoods
• A Responsive, Accountable County Government

Department Performance Measures

Performance measures for this department are included below (where applicable), with multi-program measures displayed at the front of this section and program-specific measures shown with the relevant program. The FY18 estimates reflect funding based on the FY18 approved budget. The FY19 and FY20 figures are performance targets based on the FY19 approved budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY20.

Accomplishments

• DEP led an effort to find a carbon reduction packaging alternative for the County composting operations. Working through their contract with Maryland Environmental Service (MES), DEP was able to identify a bagging product composed of sugarcane bioplastic, a carbon-negative product that will help the County reduce its carbon footprint.

• Successfully demonstrated, pursuant to a Bagging Pilot approved by the Sugarloaf Citizen's Association (SCA), that increasing bagging production at the Yard Trim Facility from 500,000 to 650,000 bags per year does not increase outgoing traffic.

• DEP conducted five confidential paper shredding/recycling and clothing/household item donation collection events throughout the County during FY17. These events collected about 87 tons of paper and cardboard for shredding and filled 1.5 box trucks with clothing and household items.
• DEP continued the food scrap recycling project in the Wellbeing Cafe in the Executive Office Building (EOB). Between November 2011 and June 2017 about 111.7 tons of pre-consumer food scraps have been collected and diverted for recycling.
• DEP coordinated and/or participated in 265 outreach events and activities in which they directly interacted with approximately 33,800 people.

Initiatives

• DEP is working to improve the safe and effective operations of its facilities by making improvements in fire detection and suppression systems and improving operations at the Shady Grove Transfer Station for traffic queuing and flow by widening traffic lanes, improving roadway markings, and improving tipping floor unloading procedures. These latter improvements will decrease queuing time and expedite on-site traffic flow.
• DEP will develop and implement a nonresidential food waste composting program in FY19.

• DEP negotiated new solid waste collection contracts for Service Areas 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7 for the collection of refuse and recycling materials. These new contacts will improve the overall level and dependability of service quality.

Innovations and Productivity Improvements

• DEP completed a Corrective Action Plan ("Plan") prepared in the wake of the 2016 fire at the Resource Recovery Facility which outlined the steps to restore the facility to safe and effective operations. Accompanying this Plan, the operator of the facility is completing a Recovery Plan for the facility, designed to address previous maintenance and performance issues, including needed maintenance on equipment. Together, these Plans should improve performance and reliability of the facility, including higher electric generation per ton of waste processed and improved processing of the County's municipal solid waste.

• DEP and the Department of Permitting Services (DPS) worked together to revise an agreement with Solar City to establish 4-MW solar power arrays on top of the closed Oaks Landfill. Construction will begin in FY19 and operation is scheduled to begin in FY19. The sale of electricity will increase revenue for the landfill.

• Completed construction of the Paper Processing Facility at the Recycling Center, for separating mixed paper into two commodities; corrugated cardboard and other mixed paper. This new facility allows for the bailing of commodities for sale. Start-up operations began in May 2017.
• DEP has been working with Finance and a software developer to implement a credit card system at the Transfer Station. The new method of financial transaction will expedite traffic flow at the Shady Grove Scale House.

Program Descriptions

  Food Waste Organics Recycling

This program is designed to promote recycling of food scraps as part of the County's overall effort to increase recycling, and reduce the amount of food waste within the County. The program includes initiatives to recycle food scraps and other acceptable organic materials, generated by the single-family residential, multi-family residential,...

  Administration and Support

This program supports the Department's operations, programs, and mission through professional services such as: budget and financial management, program evaluation analysis, contract management, and administrative support. This also includes managing the enterprise fund in a financially sound manner; implementing solid waste policy initiatives; performing financial analysis, revenue forecasting, and solid...

  Commercial Recycling

This program provides for mandatory commercial sector recycling and waste reduction for all businesses, as well as the review of recycling and waste reduction plans and annual reports from all large and medium-sized businesses, as well as targeted small businesses. Through this program, technical support, assistance, education, outreach, and training...

  Enforcement

Enforcement provided by the Department of Housing and Community Affairs under this program consists of six related components. Staff respond to resident complaints dealing with: storage and removal of solid waste; illegal solid waste dumping activities in the County; storage of unregistered vehicles on private property throughout the County; storage...

  Dickerson Compost Facility

This program includes all processing, transporting, composting, and marketing of yard trim received by the County, including leaves received from the County's Leaf Vacuuming Program. Processing includes grinding brush to produce mulch at the Transfer Station. Transportation is included for hauling leaves and grass from the Transfer Station, located in...

  Dickerson Master Plan Implementation

This program provides for the implementation of the Dickerson Solid Waste Facilities Master Plan. This plan identifies the environmental, community, and operational effects of solid waste facilities in the Dickerson area (the RRF, the Site 2 Landfill, and the Compost Facility) and outlines policies and actions to mitigate those...

  Gude Landfill

The purpose of this program is to monitor air and water quality around the landfill, maintain stormwater management and erosion control structures, maintain site roads, and manage the landfill gas through collection and flaring systems. In addition, it encompasses all operational functions necessary to maintain the Gude Landfill, which closed...

  Household & Small Quantity Hazardous Waste Management

This program funds a contractor to receive, sort, pack, ship, and properly dispose of household hazardous waste such as flammable products, insecticides, mercury, and reactive and corrosive chemicals. These products are brought in by residents and processed at State and Federally-approved hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. This program...

  Multi-Family Recycling

This program provides for mandatory recycling and waste reduction for multi-family properties. Program efforts include technical support, assistance, education, outreach and training about waste reduction, reuse, recycling and buying recycled products, in addition to the review and monitoring of waste reduction and recycling plans and annual reports. This program also...

  Oaks Landfill

This program maintains the closed Oaks Landfill in an environmentally sound and cost-effective manner in accordance with applicable State and Federal regulations. Mandated duties under this program include maintaining monitoring wells for landfill gas and water quality around the landfill; managing landfill gas through collection, flaring, and gas-to-energy systems;...

  Out Of County Refuse Disposal

This program provides for the rail shipment of ash residue that is designated for recycling or disposal from the Resource Recovery Facility (RRF) to Fulton Rail Yard near Richmond, Virginia, where it is unloaded and transported by truck to the Old Dominion Landfill, a contracted landfill where the ash is...

  Recycling Outreach And Education

This program provides for broadly educating everyone living, visiting and working in the County about waste reduction, reuse, recycling, buying recycled products, backyard and on-site composting, and grasscycling, and the need to comply with applicable County laws. Public education is an important effort which supports solid waste program goals and...

  Satellite Sites

This program provides for the operation of a satellite drop-off site at the Poolesville Highway Services Depot. Residents can bring bulky materials to this site. The site, which operates only on weekends, provides drop-off for trash items as a convenience to County residents and reduces the incidence of roadside dumping....

  Transfer Station

The purpose of this program is to provide a receiving, processing, and shipping facility for municipal solid waste generated within the County. In addition to regular trash, waste that is handled or recycled includes scrap metal, oil and anti-freeze, textiles, car batteries, and construction material. County staff operates...

  Yard Trim Reduction

The purpose of this program is to provide education and training to residents, multi-family properties, and businesses to reduce the amount of yard trim materials (grass, leaves, and brush) generated and also to manage what is generated on-site through both grasscycling and backyard or on-site composting, thus reducing the amount...

  Recycling Center

This program provides for the separation, processing, and marketing of recyclable materials (glass, metal, and plastic). The Recycling Center also serves as a transfer point for shipping residential mixed paper for processing. The Recycling Center receives recyclable material collected under the County curbside collection program, as well as some materials...

  Residential Collection

This program provides for securing, administering, monitoring, and enforcing Countywide contracts with private collectors for collection of residential refuse and recyclables, and responding to the service needs of residents. Staff processes service requests from MC311 to ensure timely fulfillment by collection contractors. This program also provides for enforcement of the...

  Resource Recovery Facility & Related Waste Transfer

This program provides for the operation of the Montgomery County Resource Recovery Facility (RRF). The RRF serves as the primary disposal facility for non-recycled waste generated in the County. Renewable energy in the form of electricity is generated by the combustion of municipal solid waste and is sold into the...

  Site 2

This program provides for the management of properties acquired for a potential future landfill. All properties are leased and/or used by private residents. Management activities include the inspection, evaluation, and maintenance of leased agricultural land, single-family dwellings, and agricultural buildings. Activities are coordinated with the Department of...

  Support for Recycling Volunteers

The mission of this program is to recruit and retain recycling volunteers to augment available staff resources to educate the general public and thereby improve participation in waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and buying recycled programs. This resident-to-resident and peer-to-peer contact is very effective in motivating people living, visiting, and working...

  Waste System Planning

This program supports the planning and development of solid waste programs in accordance with the mandates of the County's Ten Year Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan. This may include evaluating existing source reduction, recycling, composting, collection, and disposal programs and policies with the intent of achieving solid waste program...