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Baltimore City Compost Facility
BRESCO
Harford County RRF

The Montgomery County Resource Recovery Facility

Visit Montgomery County's website for a description of the Resource Recovery Facility by clicking here.

The Montgomery County Resource Recovery Facility began commercial operation in August 1995. The facility processes an average of 1,500 tons per day of solid waste, generating up to 55 megawatts of renewable energy, enough power for 40,000 homes. All waste is first delivered to the Shady Grove Transfer Station in Derwood, compacted into intermodal steel waste containers and then loaded onto railcars with gantry cranes. Each day CSX assembles the train and makes the 22-mile trip to the facility in Dickerson. There the containers are off-loaded and trucked from the on-site railyard to the facility's enclosed refuse building. Residue that remains from the process is loaded into sealed containers and shipped by rail to a landfill located in Brunswick, Virginia. This unique rail system allows the County to virtually eliminate truck traffic associated with the facility on the rural roads leading to the facility.


Recycling Waste into Energy

The resource recovery facility employs mass burn technology from Martin GmbH of Germany. Waste is combusted at furnace temperatures exceeding 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit and is reduced to an inert ash residue that is approximately 10% of its original volume.

Non-recycled solid waste is converted into approximately 63 megawatts of electricity. Completely self-sufficient, the facility operates using approximately 7 megawatts of electricity and the remainder is provide to 40,000 homes and businesses.

Air from the combustion chamber is directed through technologically advanced air pollution control equipment, including dry flue gas scrubbers, nitrogen oxide and mercury control systems and fabric filter baghouses. Facility emissions are strictly regulated by state and federal agencies.


Partners in Solutions

The Montgomery County Department of Public Works and Transportation, Division of Solid Waste Services provides local residents with environmentally sound integrated waste management. The resource recovery facility, a key component in the plan, provides an energy recovery at predictable costs.

County officials recognize that no single method of waste managementl can effectively handle all the waste generated by area residents. Other elements of the County's plan include waste reduction, a comprehensive recycling program, household hazardous waste collection, composting and minimal landfilling.

The Montgomery County Resource Recovery Facility is located 25 miles from our nation's capital in Dickerson, Maryland.

For additional information or to arrange a tour, please call 301.916.3031 or contact the Authority at 410.333.2730 or authority@nmwda.org


Operations Overview:

Year Total Refuse Processed Ferrous Metals Recovered (tons) Net Electric Produced MWH Number of Homes Provided with Electricity **
1995*
164,114
5,147
86,623
10,828
1996
422,798
12,473
220,148
27,519
1997
439,622
13,535
234,903
29,363
1998
458,104
12,567
251,774
31,472
1999
487,608
13,613
286,551
35,819
2000
519,977
14,958
296,562
37,070
2001
554,640
16,430
300,015
37,502
2002
601,353
17,765
364,522
45,565
2003
632,548
19,883
371,657
46,457
2004
616,166
19,246
380,332
47,541
2005
583,911
16,726
354,934
44,367
2006
620,666
16,860
371,965
46,496
2007
578,804
14,645
343,953
42,994
2008
573,293
13,480
331,057
41,382
Totals
7,253,604
207,328
4,198,487
524,811



*Operations began at the RRF in August of 1995.

**Analysis based on average of 8,000 kwh per home.

Visit the real time air emissions page for this facility by clicking here.





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