Maryland’s first packaging producer responsibility regulations are open for public comment now! Trash Free Maryland is working with our coalition of environmental organizations to ensure that Maryland’s new extended producer responsibility for packaging program regulations and guidance support the legislature’s intent that the program minimize environmental and human health harms from packaging and reduce packaging - especially plastic packaging - at the source.

Executive Director, Kelly Doordan, stands in front of Maryland State House holding up Trash Free Maryland’s bottle bill support testimony with logos of dozens of supporting environmental organizations that signed on.

Trash Free Maryland and Baltimore Community ToolBank are partnering to co-host a Chesapeake Conservation and Climate Corps Member from August 2026 to August 2027! Applications due March 6th! Read more…

Support the Maryland bottle bill! HB331/SB342 Maryland Recycling Refund and Litter Reduction Program, introduced by Delegate Terrasa and crossfiled in the Senate by Senator Brooks, would bring a modern beverage container recycling refund (or “bottle bill”) to Maryland! Bottle bills are proven policies for reducing impact and improving recycling quality. With plastic pollution on the rise, Maryland can’t afford to wait another year for a bottle bill to finally capture all the plastic beverage containers that escape into our environment each year.

Mr. Trash Wheel Dumpster Dive 2025! Results are in! Dozens of volunteers hand sorted and counted common litter found in streams and outfalls around Baltimore Harbor. We found nearly 2,000 beverage containers that would be covered by a bottle bill if the Maryland General Assembly passes the Recycling Refund and Litter Reduction Legislation (a “bottle bill”).

Mid-Atlantic Marine Debris Summit Recap. We collaborated with researchers, agencies, and environmental organizations from across the mid-Atlantic to discuss emerging issues and effective campaigns to prevent marine debris, microfibers, balloon litter, cigarette butts, and abandoned vessels.

Youth Environmental Action Summit with Anne Arundel Community College and North County High School. Students showcased sustainable packaging redesign projects and met with Trash Free Maryland and other environmental organizations and agencies to learn about environmental issues and careers.

September News - including upcoming Cheers to Clean Water Cleanups in Baltimore and Cambridge, status of reuse in Maryland’s extended producer responsibility for packaging program, and public feedback on the the draft Chesapeake Bay Agreement updates.

We’re at the mid-way point in the year and happy to be celebrating passage of 3 policies that will help reduce plastic trash at the source, organizing 3 successful cleanups for over 200 volunteers, and leading 15 advocacy and learning sessions for our coalition.

Over 70 volunteers volunteered their time with us in sweltering summer heat and humidity to clear the streets of litter and hear about our policy priorities. Cheers! to a trash free Maryland!

With the 2025 General Assembly session barely behind us, we at Trash Free Maryland are working with our coalition and organizations from across the state to build momentum for more ambitious policies to reduce trash pollution at the source. Read more about beverage container deposit return, extended producer responsibility for packaging, and our next cleanup event in Baltimore!

Trash Free Maryland led our Coalition in advocacy and understanding of more than a dozen bills related to trash and litter during the 2025 Maryland General Assembly Session. Extended producer responsibility for packaging passed with amendments, while many bills stalled. Read more about the Session outcomes here.