FALL 2019 building a greener future

FREDERICK SOLAR PROJECT UPDATE: A YEAR OF PROGRESS early a year ago in the Authority’s architect and engineering December 2018, Frederick firm, EA Engineering, provided design County broke ground review and submittal approvals using N for the 1.3 MW (DC) solar the design specifications. Frederick array adjacent to the County staff members assisted in Ballenger-McKinney Wastewater providing Ameresco with the Treatment Plant. At the same time, information needed to complete the Ameresco, the selected engineering, design and to obtain certain permit procurement and construction firm, approvals. The Authority provided began the final design and permitting updates to the Maryland Department work. During the next eight months, of the Environment as the project the Authority worked with Ameresco progressed through permitting. to complete certain design components and file the requisite building, electrical, In late August, the final local permits planning and interconnection were granted and construction began submittals. Throughout this process, with materials arriving at the site Solar Project Plans

through early September. Site survey work took place first in order to layout the location for various components of the array (the racking locations, security fence, inverter posts and the transformer pad). Coordination with the County continued as field verification of the planned improvements was made to facilitate the staging of materials even down to the level of mowing prior to the survey. Continued on Page 6

Material Staging Area

2 3 4 City of Baltimore & Montgomery Latest Social Media Wheelabrator Baltimore County Continue to Update Long-Term Training on Target Recognizes Area Sanitation Workers Solid and Master Plans on Websites

Serving Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Frederick County, Harford County, Howard County and Montgomery County CITY OF BALTIMORE & MONTGOMERY COUNTY CONTINUE TO UPDATE LONG-TERM SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING MASTER PLANS ON WEBSITES

City of Baltimore commercial , and Complete updates on the Baltimore City curbside single-stream recycling. long-term solid waste and recycling master planning effort, titled “Less Waste, Lastly, Geosyntec completed a Better Baltimore: Rethinking Our Waste benchmarking report. This study Management Future,” can be found on the compares the performance of the City’s City’s website at: https://publicworks. current solid systems The City also is currently reviewing a baltimorecity.gov/Less-Waste-Better- and services with those in five other draft report submitted by Geosyntec, Baltimore. U.S. jurisdictions that have either detailing improvements to the current enacted, or are in the process of enacting, diversion and recycling system in order Highlights From Consultant’s meaningful improvements to their waste to decrease material flow into the Report for Baltimore City disposal and recycling rates. The City’s disposal sector. These findings will Additional community meetings were master planning effort can learn from the be posted on the “Less Waste, Better held in June and Geosyntec has provided experiences in these other jurisdictions, Baltimore” website once finalized. a report to document them. In these which are: meetings, the study team provided Looking ahead, Geosyntec will be • Austin, TX providing reports focused on: an update on current research into • Boston, MA improving solid waste diversion. • Charleston, SC 1.) Developing options for “what’s left” to Attendees posed questions and made • Charlotte, NC address long-term strategies to handle suggestions regarding the master • Portland, OR the material that is not captured in the planning effort. diversion and recycling systems. Areas of comparison included waste 2.) A final master plan that incorporates Geosyntec also has provided a collection services, waste management the previous mentioned reports for comprehensive report on the City’s infrastructure and facilities, waste presentation to the Mayor, City Council existing waste and recycling streams, management financials, quantities of and the public. as well as the current systems for waste managed, recycling rates, and processing and managing them. waste-related initiatives and regulations. Montgomery County In addition to identifying lessons learned Updates on the Montgomery County Additionally, a second waste and in each of these areas, the study includes long-term solid waste and recycling recycling sort occurred over a three-week a selection of physical infrastructure, master planning effort, titled “Aiming period in June and provided reliable policy and regulatory, programmatic, for : A Vision for Sustainable and up-to-date data on the waste and and economic best practices that the Materials Management in Montgomery recycling characteristics and quantities City may consider as part of making County,” can be found on the County’s generated in the City. The waste sort improvements to its current waste website at: https://www.montgomery evaluated components of the City’s diversion and recycling rates. countymd.gov/SWS/master-plan.html. existing solid waste management system, focusing on curbside waste collection,

2 LATEST SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING ON TARGET

he Authority’s most recent Social Media Training Workshop on Public T Education and Behavior Change for government professionals was held in November. By all accounts, it was one of the Authority’s most successful and productive social media training session yet.

According to Susan E. Casey, with the Maryland Department of the Environment, “I wish my colleagues had been there with me! It was a terrific workshop! All the speakers really were great!” The session was attended by 20 discussed Boomerang and Hyperlapse, • Boomerang and Hyperlapse are professionals from city, county and state two useful video apps. Attendees left two video apps that allow you to agencies and was conducted by Pinnacle the training with greater knowledge create short, dynamic content for Communications Resource Company. of how they might use these apps to social media. It took place at Local Government create engaging social media posts Insurance Trust in Hanover, Maryland. • Hootsuite allows you to do more than with graphics. just schedule social media; it has Tracey Haldeman, president of Pinnacle, a wide variety of features that Case studies were presented by let you manage multiple social media coordinated and led the program. She Joseph Porcelli, public agency lead discussed best use and best practices of accounts within one dashboard. and ambassador of community for Streams in Hootsuite can be used to Hootsuite, a social media platform, by Nextdoor, and Kristin Lagana, program walking the group through important curate content and do light social specialist, Anne Arundel County listening. And, UTM codes can be used features within the program. This Recycling and Waste Reduction Division. included how to schedule and publish to track the effectiveness of posts, how to create and manage content different social media posts within Some key advice takeaways from the the same platform. streams and even how to track content workshop included: with UTM codes directly in Hootsuite. • The social media platform Nextdoor Natalie Adachi, outreach and education • Canva is an easy way to create can be used to reach highly targeted coordinator for Pinnacle, led a tutorial professional looking graphics audiences and communities, to reach and workshop on how to use Canva, a for social media. larger audiences than traditional graphic design website and app, and social media platforms and supports a multitude of features, such as polls. • When engaging with constituents on Participant’s created these products using Canva during training. social media, it is important to be kind, to be prompt, to be relatable and to listen. Note: There are free versions for all of the social media platforms in this article.

3 WHEELABRATOR BALTIMORE RECOGNIZES AREA SANITATION WORKERS heelabrator Baltimore, Each day, more than 400 truck drivers which converts everyday deliver up to 2,250 tons of household residential and and business waste to Wheelabrator W commercial waste into Baltimore. This diverts the waste from clean, renewable and enables it to be converted energy, hosted a into renewable energy capable of Appreciation Day on November 12 to powering more than 40,000 Maryland recognize the work these individuals homes, and clean steam, which is perform to enhance communities delivered to 225 Baltimore businesses. throughout the region. Company representatives hosted 300 sanitation “It can be easy to take for granted the workers on-site at Wheelabrator important benefits sanitation workers Baltimore, providing each with lunch, provide for all of us,” Dougherty said. safety vests, t-shirts, utility tools and “By removing everyday waste from our a reusable lunch bag. communities, these individuals not only and the individuals, organizations and enhance the appearance of our institutions that support this important “It is a privilege to work each day with neighborhoods but also promote public work in Baltimore City. people who are committed to doing health and safety. There is no question the hard work it takes to keep our that cleaner streets are safer streets.” We Can Bmore partners with neighborhoods clean and safe,” said community leaders to conduct Wheelabrator Market Manager Mike Recognizing the efforts of regional twice-weekly community cleanup Dougherty. “Today’s event is a token of sanitation workers is consistent with projects in neighborhoods across the appreciation for the hundreds of area Wheelabrator Baltimore’s We Can Bmore city. Through the program, Wheelabrator sanitation workers who spend countless campaign (http://wecanbmore.org). Baltimore also provides recycling hours improving the conditions of the We Can Bmore is a multi-year public education and free recycling bins to communities in which all of us live, awareness and engagement initiative residents as part of a concerted effort work and play.” that invests in waste-reduction efforts to increase Baltimore’s recycling rate.

Wheelabrator Baltimore staff show gratitude to Baltimore Sanitation workers on a cold, rainy day with a warm lunch and notes of thanks from children who attend a local Recreation Center. 4 REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS . . . COMING SOON! Textile Collection and Reuse/ Building Material/Houseware Aerial Services: Recycling Services: Collection and Reuse/ Request for Proposals (RFP) on behalf Request for Expressions of Interest Recycling Services: of Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal (REOI) and/or Request for Proposals Request for Expressions of Interest Authority Member Jurisdictions (RFP) on behalf of Northeast Maryland (REOI) and/or Request for Proposals including Anne Arundel County, Waste Disposal Authority Member (RFP) on behalf of Northeast Maryland Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Jurisdictions including Anne Arundel Waste Disposal Authority Member Carroll County, Frederick County, County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Jurisdictions including Anne Arundel Harford County, Howard County Carroll County, Frederick County, County, Baltimore City, Baltimore and Montgomery County Harford County, Howard County County, Carroll County, Frederick County, and Montgomery County Harford County, Howard County and Montgomery County RECENT Contract Awarded . . . Electronics Collection and Recycling May 31, 2019. eRevival is currently On October 1, the Northeast Maryland servicing Howard County and Baltimore Waste Disposal Authority’s Board City through previously awarded Master awarded a Master Service Agreement for Service Agreements for electronics electronics collection and recycling collection and recycling services with services to eRevival LLC, on behalf of the Authority. eRevival holds R2, OHSAS Baltimore City, Baltimore County and 18001 and ISO 14001 certifications as Carroll County for a term extending well as a Certificate of Good Standing from January 1, 2020 through June 30, within the state of Maryland. 2023. The related RFP was issued on

5 FREDERICK SOLAR PROJECT UPDATE: A YEAR OF PROGRESS Continued from Page 1 Next, the open field, south-west of being assembled, array assembly team the Ballenger-McKinney Wastewater members also started to install the Treatment Plant, started to be 3,528 photovoltaic (PV) modules. transformed. The racking system, a post-based system rather than a pile EA Engineering is under contract for the driven system, required some pre-drilling construction inspection activities in in the field. Drilling for the racks was support of the larger project, making started soon after mobilization and the sure that the County’s interests are racking assembly began as drilling was protected both in regard to the array being completed. As the racks were and the existing infrastructure. There has

Racking View

been close coordination with Ameresco for the verification of the existing utilities and site operation restrictions.

The current planned completion is in mid-December of 2019. At that time, this process will result in a project that meets PV installation in just over a year from Aerial View (Courtesy of Ameresco) contract execution!

(Please see the Fall 2018 and Winter 2019 editions of WasteWatch for additional project details.)

100 S. Charles Street, Tower II – Suite 402 Baltimore, Maryland 21201 410-333-2730 / Fax: 410-333-2721 E-mail: [email protected] www.nmwda.org

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Christopher W. Skaggs MEMBERS James M. Irvin Steven A. Walsh Chairman Baltimore County Howard County Jeffrey D. Castonguay Michael G. Marschner Carroll County Treasurer Joseph J. Siemek Frederick County Harford County Rhody R. Holthaus Guillermo Wainer Anne Arundel County Montgomery County Rudolph S. Chow Roy McGrath Baltimore City Maryland Environmental Service WasteWatch is published quarterly by the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority, an independent agency of the State of Maryland governed by its Member Jurisdictions – Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Frederick County, 6 Harford County, Howard County and Montgomery County.