Howard County's Alpha Ridge landfill in Marriottsville is set to officially open on Monday, Earth Day, according to the Baltimore Sun.
The facilities operator, coincidentally named Howard Hord, along with other executives, are hoping this facility presents a bright future for the community in regards to waste disposal. They hope this will significantly reduce trash and that the rest of Maryland will follow suit.
"We're the guinea pigs," Hord said while he waited for a fresh load of compost ingredients including grass clippings, branches and yard debris.
Food scraps were also collected from around 1,000 homes in the eastern part of the county the Baltimore Sun reported.
Once the waste is delivered, workers will mix them with animal manure in order to produce a "rich organic material for growing plants or flowers," according to the Sun.
The pilot program was originally launched a little over a year ago, but the county is committed. They've built a brand new $800,000 compost facility at Alpha Ridge where the materials will be processed and then resold as fertilizer. The compost product will also be used in parks and on government property.
"What we are doing here is clearly important for playing our role in sustainability," said County Executive Ken Ulman. "It will, when it's successful on a broader scale, show to other jurisdictions that it's possible."
The process of transforming the compost to usable fertilizer begins with a dump truck emptying its' waste and food scraps for workers to sift through. Once separated, the debris is scooped up and put through a massive grinder, which shreds everything apart.
Once that is done, the material is covered with a tarp to cut out bugs and disease. The material is then moved a few times throughout the three month decomposing process. A perforated pipe ensures that odors are filtered out.
As of now 20 percent of eligible households participate in the program, but the county is looking to expand that number in the coming year.
