Trash

Just one mention of the word brings out strong feelings in just about everyone to which I’ve talked. We all make trash, the pile of trash is growing, and figuring out how to manage it is no easy job. Start talking about recycling, and the conversation can really become spirited.

It seems that the number one rule of trash is to dispose of it properly. But many people have noticed the growing amount of trash along streets and are wondering what to do about it. Public dumping is also a problem.

How can we achieve a cleaner community?

Wicomico County fields plenty of phone calls from citizens upset about trash, wondering if crews can be sent to clean up roads, according to Jennifer Albero, recycling coordinator for Wicomico County. Unfortunately, the county no longer has the staff to do that. Three road crews were keeping up with it prior to the pandemic, so “people didn’t realize how much trash was being thrown,” she explained. But now, “everybody everywhere is complaining about it.”

The county detention center used to send inmates on work release to clean up roads during the week, but that program is defunct at the current time because of staffing.  But inmates from Eastern Correctional Institution do assist directly at the landfill. Four to six inmates, down from 14, work weekdays at Newland Park Landfill to separate contaminants from recycling. If you’ve ever looked in the recycling bins when you’ve dropped off your items, you’ll see a lot that doesn’t belong – plastic bags, garbage, and items that can’t be recycled. Everything has to be sorted by hand. 

  When residents call and are upset about trash, Albero said she explains that she has to go out and clean up just like everyone else. She said they do have an employee who tries to pick up on Naylor Mill Road, and that the county roads division has a vacuum truck that’s used to clean up some areas, such as Parker Pond in Salisbury recently where a TV was dumped. But mostly, for all that trash along the side of roadways, it’s dependent on citizens’ help, both to clean up and to not leave trash in the first place.



“I don’t know how to get people to start caring about their own neighborhoods enough to stop throwing trash out,” she said. Also, anyone who has picked up trash notices the abundance of alcohol bottles and cans by the side of the road which means they have been thrown out by drivers. Recognizing the massive amount of drinking and driving is the most alarming aspect of roadside cleanups. 

While each municipality has its own way of doing things, Wicomico County residents either have to pay for trash service or buy a yearly pass to dispose of their trash themselves at the landfill. The pass is $60 and good for 12 months. http://md-wicomicocounty.civicplus.com/304/Household-Refuse-Permits. Recycling bins for cardboard, paper, glass, plastic, aluminum and bi-metal are centers around the county. https://www.wicomicocounty.org/671/ConvenienceRecycle-Center-Information 
 In the city of Salisbury, trash and recycling are both picked up curbside. 

Jerry Arrington, sanitation superintendent for the City of Salisbury, said it’s important to notice what items are actually recyclable, because much of the plastic produced is not. “A lot of it has to do with components in the plastic,” he explained. He encouraged more residents to recycle to combat the growing landfill. “It takes a lot of people for it to catch on and change habits. If we have more people recycling, it would really help,” he said. Arrington also said all city streets are swept regularly, too. According to the city website, that’s 210 miles of roadway.

A notable way the city is attempting to cut down on trash is the plastic bag ban that goes into effect July 1. The ordinance, an initiative of Shop Green SBY, bans single-use plastic bags at the point of sale, pickup or delivery. Businesses within the city will be required to charge 10 cents for each paper bag at checkout. If you’re like me, you’ve acquired a lot of reusable bags that you forget to use. It’s time to make a new habit!  For specifics on the new law, see https://salisbury.md/shopgreensby.

Among all the recycling being collected, the one item at a standstill is plastic. Plastic is currently being sorted and baled, but is piling up at the landfill property. The landfill is the middle man, so to speak, and recycling is sold to companies to make more products, but “numbers across the board have been slashed 25-30% for all recyclables,” Albero said. The county used to get $130/ton for cardboard, and it’s plummeted to $32/ton. There is a glut of cardboard, thanks to an increase in online shopping the last few years. And the market for plastic right now is so bad that it’s not worth sending out, she continued. 

“We’re baling it, but we’re letting it sit. Until we get to the point that we’re out of room, we’ll keep saving it. It’s still saving landfill space.”

For those of us taking our recycling to the county bins, there are fewer locations as the Sam’s Club center was recently closed due to garbage being left. “Our 24-hour recycling centers are our problem children,” she said. “It’s a constant battle trying to keep those clean.” Garbage was continually left at the Sam’s Club location, including “mattresses that look like they came out of a horror movie.” 

Tires are another frequent find at the center, as well as along roadsides.

If you are making the effort to recycle and drop off items at the county bins, remember to not bag anything. No plastic bags! I sometimes have my plastic bottles bagged, then I’ll unload the bottles and take the bags to a collection spot at one of the local grocery stores.

One location in Wicomico County that has been an issue of ongoing concern is Substation Road off West Road. A large section of woods is the site of an abandoned homeless camp, and public dumping runs rampant in the area. The trash accumulation there is massive by any account, and the county’s code enforcement officer Tony Williams and Albero met with representatives for the property owner, Milford W. Twilley, Rental Management Inc. a few weeks ago.

Heavy equipment is needed to clear the quantity of trash. Twilley property manager Anna Bergman said they are working on cleaning it up, and the company had placed a barricade to close off the area, but it was taken down. Albero has suggested trail cameras to catch whoever is dumping. She said the county has not yet issued a fine to the property owner, as progress is being made. 

This is the first in a two-part series. Next up: Learn about a few people leading clean-up efforts and how

you can be involved on your own or with a group.