County recycling efforts draining resources

A relatively routine presentation on the county’s Solid Waste division Tuesday got interesting during the recycling portion when the conversation shifted from trying to woo Ocean City back into the fold but ended up with the commissioners contemplating seeking their own exemption from state mandates.

No direct action was taken by the county to formally explore the idea, just a vague directive offered by Commissioner Vice President Merrill Lockfaw, adopted unanimously, to direct staff to “continue to explore options,” to shore up solid waste operations.

A number of factors contributed to the turn in discussion, including Director of Public Works John Tustin’s revelation that recycling operations cost the county an average of $690,000 annually.

Also, the county gets a credit for chicken manure in mandated state goals, which could be affected by phosphorus management tool regulations put forth by Gov. Larry Hogan based on legislation passed by the O’Malley administration.

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