The Bureau of Solid Waste (BSW) lead SWMP planning with input from the Bureau of Water and Wastewater, the Office of Sustainability, the Departments of Health, Housing, Planning and more. BSW contracted with Geosyntec Consultants to write the plan, and incorporate feedback from stakeholders in accordance with the regulations set by MDE and with Gavin to support media outreach, comment tracking, and meeting facilitation.

Plan development was informed by population changes and estimates, historical solid waste data, tonnage reports, regulatory guidelines, city planning documents and public input.

The SWMP planning effort consisted of 4 stages for the 60%, 90%, 99%, and Final Drafts. Residents had the opportunity to submit written comments and/or provide testimony at a public meeting during each stage. The table below summarizes and provides resources for each stage:

• 2013-2023 Solid Waste Management Plan (PDF)

The Bureau of Solid Waste received over 700 comments throughout the planning process. Comments were made on multiple platforms, including email, Konveio (a platform that allows you to add comments directly on the draft) and testimony at public meetings. All feedback was thoughtfully reviewed, compiled, and analyzed for common themes and priorities to include in the plan.

Read responses to common comment topics and a list of all comments on the SWMP Comment Webpage.

Community input was an important part of the SWMP planning process, therefore BSW employed multiple outreach strategies to encourage public engagement:

• City Agency Contacts: BSW worked with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, Office of Sustainability and Department of Planning to reach their audiences. City agencies included information about the SWMP in their newsletters and social media pages.
• Community Outreach: BSW distributed flyers and information in the community and to community groups, including:
  • 21 Enoch Pratt Library Branches
  • Casa de Maryland
  • Grow Center Pop-Ups
  • 291 Community Associations in Department of Planning’s Community Association Directory
  • DPW Resident Advisory Council
  Members
  • Baltimore City Community Relations Commission Presidents

BSW used the following strategies to market the plan:

• Social Media: DPW posted SWMP information and how to get involved on their Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Nextdoor Pages
• Community Outreach: BSW distributed flyers and information in the community and to community groups, including:
• Press Releases: DPW rolled out 6 press releases:
• 12/29/2022- 10-Year Solid Waste Management Plan | Baltimore City Department of Public Works
• 2/6/2023- Baltimore City Residents Invited to First of Five Public Meetings to Gather Feedback on Development of 10-Year Solid Waste Management Plan | Baltimore City Department of Public Works
• 2/28/2023- Stakeholders Invited to Provide Comment on the 90% Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) | Baltimore City Department of Public Works
• 3/22/2023- Stakeholders Invited to Third Public Meeting to Develop DPW Solid Waste Management Plan | Baltimore City Department of Public Works
• 4/6/2023- 10-Year Solid Waste Management Plan Final Draft Presentation at April 10 Public Meeting | Baltimore City Department of Public Works
• 4/17/2023-Residents Encouraged to Attend Final Public Meeting to Weigh in on the City’s 10-Year Solid Waste Management Plan | Baltimore City Department of Public Works Presidents
• Water Bill Insert: DPW inserted a flyer with SWMP information and how to get involved in 225,000 Households water bill

Equitable participation and representation was important to the SWMP Planning process, therefore BSW took the following steps to remove barriers to public engagement:

• Public Meetings
  • Hybrid Structure- 5 out of 5 meetings offered online, 2 out of 5 offered hybrid online or in person
  • Closed Captioning- for all online and in person meetings
  • More accessibility strategies-
    • needs were logged during the registration process
    • information about physical accessibility was distributed prior to the events
    • alternative slide decks for low vision for in person meetings
    • printed copies of SWMP upon request for low-computer access individuals
• Comments
  • Multiple platforms- to provide comment on the plan for stakeholders with different access to and comfort with technology.
    • email
    • Konveio (a platform that allows you to add comments directly on the draft)
    • USPS
    • testimony at public meetings.

BSW took the following steps to make engagement in the SWMP planning process accessible to stakeholders with limited English:

• Collaborated with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs to distribute marketing materials (via social media and newsletter) translated into Baltimore City’s top five languages: Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Korean and French.
• Provided interpretation at Public Review Meetings for individuals who indicated a need in their registration.
  • BSW provided French interpretation at the 3/27/23 public meeting and Spanish interpretation at the 4/10/23 and 4/24/23 public meetings.
• Contract with Gavin (public relations firm) included interpretation and facilitation support for Spanish speaking attendees
• Materials:
  • Flyer: Arabic, Chinese, French, Korean,  Spanish
  • FAQs: Arabic,  Chinese, French, Korean,  Spanish
  • Press Release 2/6/23: Arabic,  Chinese, French, Korean,  Spanish
  • Full 60% Plan Draft (please use the translation feature by clicking a flag in the right top corner)
  • Full Final Plan Draft (coming soon)
  • 4/24/23 Public Meeting Slide Deck: Spanish