MACo Associate Director, Les Knapp, Jr. testified February 16 before the House Environmental Matters Committee in opposition to House Bill 179. The bill requires the owner or manager of an apartment building or condominium that contains 10 or more dwelling units to provide recycling for its residents by October 1, 2015.  County governments must incorporate the collection and recycling of materials from apartment buildings and condominiums into their recycling plans.  County governments would also likely be the primary party responsible for enforcing bill provisions.  MACo opposed the bill because it poses an unfunded mandate upon local governments for enforcement and collection and could cause problems for counties with existing recycling programs.

During his testimony, Mr. Knapp indicated that MACo had worked on joint amendments with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and if the committee adopted the MDE amendments, MACo would drop its opposition to the bill.  The bill is cross-filed as SB 111.