The news that Howard, Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties could soon sign a 20-year agreement to establish a regional composting facility is a noteworthy triumph for the cause of regionalism. The agreement will constitute a long awaited, long overdue achievement in regional waste disposal, a much ballyhooed goal of the local elected leaders who sit on the Baltimore Metropolitan Council. It also will stand as proof that such cooperative efforts aren't nearly so improbable as naysayers have claimed.
Jurisdictions in the Baltimore metropolitan region do cooperate in various ways. Police can pursue criminals in car chases from one subdivision to another, and Baltimore City has arranged to incinerate trash from neighboring counties. However, this facility to compost yard waste will be different. From the start, it will be a highly visible shared project of the subdivisions taking part in the agreement. They will jointly own the site -- on Dorsey Road just west of the border between Howard and Anne Arundel counties -- where the $5.9 million plant will be located. Part of each county's per-ton fee of $36.17 will go toward paying the debt service on the Maryland Environmental Service revenue bonds financing the project. If the property is ever sold, the three counties will share the proceeds.
In addition, the jurisdictions will supply the yard waste to be converted into "black gold" -- roughly equal amounts of their residents' leaves, grass clippings and branches. They will also continue to send waste to private composting firms, though having the new facility means the three counties will see nearly all their yard waste composted.
The MES, the quasi-governmental agency that helps local governments and companies devise waste disposal plans, has put out a bid for a contractor that will build and operate the facility and sell the finished product. The compost market currently gets a good rating; nonetheless, the winning bidder will be expected to have an aggressive and profitable sales strategy.
The three local governments should officially approve the agreement by this spring. Later in the year, the composting plant should begin operation. Then, to quote a t-shirt favored by some gardeners, "Compost happens." And after years of fruitless discussions and empty promises, maybe it turns out that regional waste-disposal happens, too.