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Maryland Statewide Recycling Needs Assessment: Waste Characterization Study

Maryland Department of Environment (MD-MDE) | Baltimore, MD | Completed: 2025

Maryland Statewide Recycling Needs Assessment: Waste Characterization Study | 20241107_124537

MSW Consultants served as a subcontractor on the Maryland Department of the Environment's 2024 Statewide Recycling Needs Assessment, as the lead waste characterization study (WCS) expert. This study served as an update to the 2016 Maryland Statewide Waste Characterization performed by MSW Consultants and was one component of the larger statewide study designed to inform the development and implementation of Maryland's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation. For the WCS, MSW Consultants completed one season of fieldwork at nine facilities across the state. The WCS included manual sorting of municipal solid waste (MSW) at landfills and transfer stations. The material categories were expanded from the previous study to capture relevant data on EPR packaging for analysis in the larger Recycling Needs Assessment report. WCS results were presented by generator sector (residential, industrial/commercial/institutional) and demographic region (urban, suburban, rural). MSW Consultants provided the prime contractor with a full WCS report and executive summary of the WCS results for inclusion in the Recycling Needs Assessment report.