Those extra bottles and cans cluttering your space could not only earn you some cash but also support vital legislation aimed at keeping waste out of local waterways.
The Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore’s Healthy Harbor Initiative is collaborating with a group of environmental allies to host the Mr. Trash Wheel’s Cash for Trash: A Bottle Bill Demonstration Event.
Residents are invited to bring their empty plastic, glass, and aluminum containers to the event scheduled for January 31 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Peabody Heights Brewery.
The containers will be counted and exchanged for 10 cents each. Please note that each container must be less than one gallon in size, and households are limited to redeeming up to 1,000 containers, allowing a highly motivated household to earn as much as $100.
Moreover, it’s important that all glass containers are intact and kept separate from plastic and aluminum cans and bottles.
If you wish to bring more than 1,000 containers, please contact Chelsea@waterfrontpartnership.org.
The event can accommodate up to 50,000 containers; once this limit is reached, no additional containers or payments will be accepted.
The goal of this initiative is to foster awareness and garner support for the Maryland Bottle Bill. This proposed legislation aims to impose a deposit on beverages packaged in glass, plastic, and metal containers. Consumers would then be able to reclaim their empty bottles and cans for 10 to 15 cents each, depending on their size.
Mr. Trash Wheel has already removed over 2.6 million beverage containers from the Baltimore Harbor. Shockingly, only 25% of beverage containers in Maryland are currently recycled, leading to over 4 billion containers ending up in landfills, along roadsides, in waterways, or being incinerated, as reported by the Waterfront Partnership.
However, the Maryland Bottle Bill could make a significant impact by minimizing litter and enhancing recycling rates.
“Bottle deposit programs effectively reduce litter and significantly boost recycling, achieving rates up to three times higher than states that do not implement them,” stated the Waterfront Partnership on their event page. “Maryland’s proposed Bottle Bill could elevate the state’s beverage container recycling rate from approximately 25% to over 90%, with the program funded and managed by beverage producers instead of taxpayers.”
The bill is anticipated to be reintroduced when the Maryland General Assembly reconvenes for its 2026 legislative session, taking place from January 14 to April 13.
