Maryland’s 2026 General Assembly Session ended on April 13th. Here is how our litter priorities and other relevant waste and recycling bills ended up.

Maryland Paint Stewardship Program launches April 1, 2026! Legislation to create this product stewardship program passed in 2024, making it easier for all Marylanders to manage and recycle leftover paint! Visit paintcare.org/md to find a participating drop off site near you and recycle your used paint!

Maryland Crossover Day is March 23rd this year. Legislation that passes one chamber by this date has the best chance of making it through the session successfully.

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.