Our Shared Successes!
As we work together towards a vision of a Trash Free Maryland,
we must acknowledge our shared successes!
This #TrashTuesday, we are taking time to reflect on our shared successes as we approach Giving Tuesday 2022. To those of you who already donated to Trash Free Maryland's #TrashTuesday $5k goal, a big Thank You!
Eliminating Trash and Litter at the Source!
Banned microbeads in personal care products
Banned polystyrene foam food packaging
Banned plastic grocery style bags in Takoma Park and Baltimore City
Banning microbeads in personal care products and polystyrene foam food packaging state-wide were major steps forward. These materials contaminate our streets and waterways and don't break down for centuries. This year's annual Waterfront Partnership Dumpster Dive, sponsored by our phenomenal partner, the Baltimore Waterfront Partnership, showed numbers of polystyrene decreased from 2,398 pieces in 2019 to just 214 this year!
We worked with partners to ban plastic grocery style bags in Baltimore City and expect to see similar decreases.
Let’s make these types of litter a sight of the past. More environmentally friendly options exist. Actions like this generate awareness, momentum to do more and serve as examples for other jurisdictions who have followed our lead.
Incentives
Fee for Plastic Bags in Montgomery County and Takoma Park
We also advocated for the fees on plastic bags in Montgomery County and Takoma Park. These fees create an incentive to encourage us all to use reusable bags, and numbers of plastic bags has decreased.
We believe incentives are a powerful tool in the battle against trash and litter!
Constituency and Momentum
Most critically, in a short time, we built a highly visible statewide constituency for all issues trash and litter. We created programs like Less Litter Maryland to promote cleanups across the state. We developed and tested methodology to best collect trash data to pass policy, and we engage the community in events like our annual Cheers to Clean Water cleanup.
Trash Free Maryland brings a laser focus on trash and litter and gets results. We do this through incredibly productive relationships with organizations small and large, public, non-profit and private, and people like you.
Together we can make Maryland Trash Free!
