The county’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is hosting the 11th Annual Energy Summit on Monday and Tuesday at the Silver Spring Civic Building in downtown Silver Spring.
The event will focus on preparing commercial buildings for energy benchmarking, performance standards, and emerging building codes.
County Executive Marc Elrich, Maryland Secretary of the Environment Serena C. McIlwain, and DEP Director Jon Monger will address attendees at 9 a.m. Monday, followed by a Pepco demonstration of building energy audits and environmental solutions in the Innovation Alley exhibit hall.
WorkSource Montgomery’s Mobile American Job Center will also be present to connect employers with job seekers.
Sign up today for the 2024 @MontgomeryCoMD Energy Summit for 2 days of cutting-edge education, case studies, support on building energy requirements, and networking opportunities! Join us on April 15-16 for this exciting event! #PowerUpMC https://t.co/GkTD0pqOOd
— Montgomery County Dept of Environmental Protection (@MyGreenMC) April 10, 2024
Additionally, Montgomery County released its 2022/2023 Recycling Summary this week, highlighting recycling efforts and new eligible materials.
“Montgomery County is dedicated to setting an example for the state and the nation in waste and recycling management,” Elrich said in a press release. “From accepting durable medical equipment and paint for reuse to recycling mattresses, books and textiles, we are consistently looking for innovative ways to recycle more and waste less. While there is still more we can do to reduce waste and increase recycling, we are making progress towards our goal of achieving zero waste. This Earth Month, let’s all Act Now and work together to reduce, reuse and recycle more.”
DEP includes various materials in its recycling rate calculation, such as plastics, paper, tires, electronics, construction debris, oils, animal waste, paints, textiles, and hazardous household waste. Since 2020, the county has increased recycling of plastics (110%), construction/demolition materials (58%), tires (32%), mixed paper (15%), electronics (7%), and glass (3%).
In 2023, DEP began accepting mattresses, box springs, and durable medical equipment for recycling/reuse. It has also expanded the list of recyclable electronics and sent usable paint to African non-profit organizations.
Did you know? From 2020-2022, we collected 18 tons of durable medical equipment ♿ in @MontgomeryCoMD! Thank you for helping to #recycleright ♻️ everyday! pic.twitter.com/Bpn14oiGeF
— Montgomery County Dept of Environmental Protection (@MyGreenMC) April 11, 2024
“Thanks to individual and collective action across the County, the amount of trash we are producing is going down as our County continues to grow,” Monger said. “From 2018 to 2022, the amount of waste disposed of per person decreased by 11 percent. This is no small feat—and a credit to our ongoing work to reduce waste, reuse material and recycle more. The idea is simple – the more we recycle, the less we throw away and the closer we get to aiming for zero waste. Each and every resident and business in the County plays a key role in helping reach this goal together.”
The county aims to expand and diversify its solid waste and recycling management, including commercial and residential food scrap composting programs and adding more recyclable materials.
DEP manages the Commercial Food Scraps Recycling Partnership Program, which assists businesses in separating and delivering food scraps to composting facilities. It is also piloting curbside food scrap recycling for over 1,500 single-family homes and plans to expand the program countywide in the future.
For more information on recycling in Montgomery County, visit the DEP website.
Photo: © marcuspon – stock.adobe.com