Van Hollen, Cardin Announce $20,000 EPA Grant for Prince George’s County Composting Project

Today U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin(both D-Md.) announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded Prince George's County a $20,000 grant to expand their Organics Composting Facility. This funding will help expand the County's existing food scrap composting project located in Carmody Hills-Pepper Mill Village and create a pilot project for the collection of residential curbside food waste in collection carts for composting.

"Prince George's County is leading our state in innovative ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste," said Senator Van Hollen, member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. "Expanding this successful program will bring the option of composting - which turns waste into a valuable, environmentally friendly resource - to more residents and serve as a model for other communities in our area."

"We all reap the rewards from less waste and more environmentally friendly practices in our communities," said Senator Cardin, a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. "Prince George's County is making an investment in its public health, the environment and our local economy by expanding composting and cutting waste."

The planned expansion of the existing food scrap composting project is a testament to its proven success. The grant will allow for additional food scraps and other compostable materials to be accepted and composted at the Prince George's Organics Composting Facility. As a facet of the County's ongoing waste diversion and zero waste goals, this grant is the next step in testing the feasibility of a county wide residential curbside food scrap collection program.