Burn It or Truck It: Council Gets Two Opposite Incinerator Resolutions Tuesday, With a Vote Targeted Nov. 10

The Montgomery County Council will introduce two resolutions on Tuesday, Oct. 27, that take opposite positions on the Resource Recovery Facility, the county’s trash incinerator in Dickerson. Option 1 supports keeping the incinerator open for the long term. Option 2 supports closing it and disposing of the county’s trash at out-of-county landfills.

Council action on the incinerator resolutions is “tentatively scheduled for 11/10/26,” according to the Oct. 27 Council agenda.

Council staff drafted both incinerator resolutions, and both list Council President Natali Fani-González as lead sponsor. The staff cover memo calls the choice “a binary one” and says the Council wants to take a position “by November so that the current County Executive and his successor can initiate the necessary planning, budget, and contractual work needed to implement the decision.”

What each incinerator resolution asks for

The Option 1 resolution asks the County Executive to plan capital upgrades to the incinerator, propose a capital project for them, and seek bids for a long-term operating contract starting no later than April 2031, when the current contract ends.

The Option 2 resolution asks the Executive to send the Council an amendment to the county’s 2025-2034 Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan reflecting the switch to out-of-county landfills.

Both incinerator resolutions ask for a recommendation on Advanced Waste Processing, which sorts recyclables and organics out of trash, once the county finishes its request for proposals for that facility.

Council staff wrote in the Oct. 27 worksession memo (page 1): “In the absence of a decision in the next few weeks, the County would lose the ability to execute an out-of-County landfill option under the pending request for proposal thus significantly delaying this opportunity.” The same memo says that without a long-term commitment, the county would lose the ability to make “necessary operational and environmental improvements” to the incinerator.

What DEP projects for the trash charge on your tax bill

For single-family homes, the incinerator decision affects only the Base Systems Benefit Charge on the property tax bill, according to the worksession memo (page 37). Every property owner in Montgomery County pays the Base Systems Benefit Charge, including those in cities and towns (page 18). The single-family Base Systems Benefit Charge is $89.99 a year in FY27, the current fiscal year.

The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) projects the single-family charge for FY33 (July 2032 to June 2033) at these levels, according to the worksession memo (page 19):

• Keeping the incinerator: $139.87 a year
• Long-haul trucking with Advanced Waste Processing, the County Executive’s recommendation: $139.85 a year
• Long-haul trucking without Advanced Waste Processing: $121.97 a year

Council staff described DEP’s charge projections as “relatively close to each other in level” and said they “could fluctuate significantly given some of the significant uncertainties noted earlier.”

One uncertainty is the incinerator’s capital cost. DEP’s projections assume $356 million for a major incinerator upgrade, while Reworld, the incinerator’s operator, told the Council on Sept. 29 that a different approach could cost $200 million or less (page 17). Council staff estimate the lower figure would cut the single-family charge under the keep-it option by about $16 a year (page 19). County procurement rules bar DEP from sharing the long-haul bids it received.

Landfill tons and trucks at Shady Grove

DEP projects 267,860 tons landfilled in FY33 if the incinerator stays open, including ash, and 485,728 tons under the County Executive’s long-haul plan, according to the worksession memo (page 16).

DEP estimates long-haul trucking would add about 80 tractor-trailer trips a day into the county’s Shady Grove Transfer Station in Derwood and 80 trips out (page 10). Rockville’s Mayor and Council asked the county for a fuller study of that trucking before it decides, as we reported Oct. 14.

What happens Oct. 27 and Nov. 10

• Oct. 27, 2:45 p.m.: Council worksession on solid waste disposal, with DEP Director Jennifer Macedonia expected. No vote is expected.
• Oct. 27, 4 p.m.: Both incinerator resolutions are introduced on the consent calendar. No vote is expected.
• Nov. 10: Council action on the incinerator resolutions is tentatively scheduled.

The Council’s list of future public hearings, prepared Oct. 22, does not include a hearing on the incinerator resolutions. Residents can send the Council comments by email at county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov or by mail to 100 Maryland Avenue, 6th Floor, Rockville, MD 20850, according to the Council’s website.

Also before the Council Tuesday: the bus depot move costs $15.5 million more

County Executive Marc Elrich is asking the Council for $15.5 million more in general obligation bonds to finish moving about 250 MCPS school buses from the Shady Grove Depot on Crabbs Branch Way to leased sites at 861 East Gude Drive and 14825 Old Dover Road in Rockville. The Council approved an initial $10.55 million for the bus depot move on Nov. 4, 2025.

The bus depot project’s total cost is now $31.56 million, up from last year’s estimate of $16.06 million, according to the project description form in the packet (page 11). Council staff attribute the increase to “revised cost estimates resulting from updated designs” and new requirements including HVAC systems, electrical upgrades and backup generators, and put completion in fall 2027.

Room for the bus depot money in FY27 comes partly from delaying the Fenton Street Cycletrack, a separated bike lane planned in downtown Silver Spring between King Street and Planning Place. Construction of the Fenton Street Cycletrack would start in FY28 instead of FY27, and its total cost rises to $17.5 million from $16.2 million. Elrich’s memo cites “slower than anticipated project execution.” Council staff wrote that the change was sent early “due to the need for GO Bond capacity for the MCPS Bus Depot and Maintenance Relocation project in FY27.”

The Council will hold a public hearing on the bus depot money and the Fenton Street Cycletrack delay on Nov. 10 at 1:30 p.m. The Council’s deadline to sign up to testify at a 1:30 p.m. hearing is 2 p.m. the day before, which would be Nov. 9, unless the Council notes otherwise. Residents can sign up to testify online or by calling 240-777-7803. The bus depot staff report schedules action for Nov. 17.

Still unanswered

• Will the Council take public testimony before acting on the incinerator resolutions?
• DEP’s August assumptions list a decision date of “no later than 10/31/2026.” Does a Nov. 10 vote still fit the long-haul procurement timeline?
• Why is the Fenton Street Cycletrack running slower than planned?

We have not yet put these questions to the County Council, DEP or the Montgomery County Department of Transportation; this story will be updated with any response.

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