Policy & Advocacy
Successes
The Healthy Harbor Initiative advocates to influence public policy related to pollution reduction in our waterways. We utilize trash data collected by each of our trash wheels and photos to inform policy change and show the efficacy of these reforms. Trash reduction legislation that trash wheel data have supported include:
2018 Baltimore City Polystyrene Foam Products Ban - (Ordinance 18-125)
2019 Maryland Statewide Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Food Products Ban - (Chapter 579 (Sections 9-2201 through 9-2207))
2020 Baltimore City Comprehensive Bag Reduction Act - (Ordinance 20-337)
2023 Baltimore County Bring Your Own Bag Act - (Sections 21-14-101 through 21-14-105)
Bottle Deposit Bill Legislation
Our current policy priority is the implementation of a statewide Bottle Deposit Program.
About Bottle Bills: Beverage container deposit programs, also known as “bottle bills,” are a proven, highly effective policy for recovering used beverage containers and reducing litter. Ten states, covering about 90 million people, have longstanding, successful programs They add a small deposit to the purchase price of beverage containers that is refunded to customers when the containers are returned for recycling.
When empty beverage containers can be redeemed for cash, fewer are littered or likely to remain littered. Purchase the beverage, borrow the container! The refundable deposit is an incentive to return. Deposit programs also dramatically increase beverage container recycling. The recycling rate for deposit beverage containers is 2-3 times higher than for containers not subject to a deposit, and the impact is greater with higher deposits. States with a 10-cent deposit have achieved container recycling rates of 90%.
