Where We’re From
We love our communities in South Baltimore. That’s why we put our time, energy and creativity into building our very first small business right here in our neighborhood. We do not accept that our communities are destined to be dumping grounds or hosts for toxic incinerators and landfills. These outcomes reflect bad choices made by leaders past and present. Now, we are working to make South Baltimore a model for Zero Waste development that is community led and owned.
Think about the difference it would make if the materials we consume were handled responsibly. We are talking about thousands of tons of material that we are either restoring to use or disposing of in the land, water or air we breathe. There is no avoiding the magnitude of the impact at the scale of our cities
Where We’re Going
Right now, our City does not support the development of a Zero Waste economy. What would this look like? Well, one of the first things is our City would stop paying to burn thousands of tons of materials that could be recycled, re-used or composted at the BRESCO incinerator. We would also stop entrusting the largest private landfill owner in the country to do a good job managing our recycling. Progress in this sector means that our public officials have to get educated on the extent to which waste management has become a big business that grows bigger with more waste not less. By setting accountability measures and standards that value outcomes that communities and workers value, officials can begin to create opportunities for genuine recycling, re-use and composting systems to develop. What would this look like in Baltimore?
Imagine if our City leaders really took notice of what youth have been up to for the past 10 years in the City starting with the effort to prevent a new incinerator from being built? We have been calling for investment in