Expansion Plans

St. Andrews Landfill

Following the State’s December 29, 1994 public hearing, in October 1995, the Maryland Department of the Environment issued Refuse Disposal Permit #1993-WSF-0138-0 to the Department of Public Works for the upgrade, expansion, and continued operation of the St. Andrews Landfill Facility known as "Area C" and the continued rubble fill operations. The permit has been extended as Permit # 2005-WSF-0138 through October 27, 2010. The three-celled expansion was designed to meet all new Subtitle D requirements and was to be constructed on a 55 acre parcel purchased in January 1987. Approximately 1,500,000 cubic yards of capacity would be available for solid waste deposition over the next 10-15 years. The design includes a leachate pre-treatment facility, state-of-the-art liner system and a series of new surface and groundwater monitoring wells and remains a viable future contingency plan. St. Andrews Landfill was closed to commercial haulers in April 1998, with remaining capacity used for residents until July 2001. All waste has been exported since that time. At present, the County is contract hauling it's residential solid waste to a combination of Waste-To-Energy / Resource Recovery facilities, and King George (VA) / Calvert County (MD) landfills.

A 12,000 square foot Transfer Station & Processing Facility was proposed on the St. Andrews Landfill property to serve the solid waste disposal needs for the citizens and commercial sector of St. Mary's County. The estimated design capacity was 500 tons per day. The new state-of-the-art facility was initially scheduled for construction in 2009, but was deferred by the Commissioners of St. Mary's County because of economic reasons and partially because Charles count was willing to provide an interim reduced tipping fee rate of $45/ ton for St. Mary's County to transport it's solid waste to their facility through December 31, 2012. At present, the MDE Refuse Disposal Permit and Operating License issued on 9-25-2008, the Local Building Permit approved on 1-15-2009, the Conditional Use approval CUAP#06-132-030 and the Final Design plans received on 7-29-2010 remain current. The facility approvals listed will serve as a longer term contingency plan.

Solid Waste Processing Facility & Transfer Station

The County has received approval (Refuse Disposal Permit & Operating License #2006-WPT-0624) from the Maryland Department of the Environment to construct and operate a 12,000 square foot Transfer Station & Processing Facility to serve the solid waste disposal needs for the citizens and commercial sector of St. Mary's County. The proposed was to be located on the St. Andrews Landfill property with an estimated design capacity of 500 tons per day. The construction of the new state-of-the-art facility was deferred because it was deemed more cost effective to defer the capital construction costs and additional annual operational costs - partially because Charles County was willing to provide an interim reduced tipping fee rate of $45/ ton for St. Mary's County to transport it's solid waste to their facility through December 31, 2012. The MDE Refuse Disposal Permit and Operating License issued on 9-25-2008, the Local Building Permit approved on 1-15-2009, the Conditional Use approval CUAP#06-132-030 and the Final Design plans received on 7-29-2010 remain current. At some time in the future, a transfer station may serve as the primary means to manage solid waste generated by both residential and commercial waste haulers in St. Mary’s County. Until that time, residents will continue to utilize existing facilities as they have historically.

Convenience Centers

In 2010, in an effort to reduce recycling contractor costs, provide more convenient service to customers and defer the immediate need to expand both the Clements and Oakville Convenience Centers, 30 yard recycling compactors were installed at each of the six (6) convenience centers. The stationary recycling compactors have allowed to the County to eliminate the multiple recycling containers that were scattered about the sites, minimize the amount of litter and windblown material, reduce the number of operationally disruptive return visits required to empty containers, eliminate the need for customers to "break down" all cardboard boxes, frees up existing pavement for customer parking / circulation and will improve the overall aesthetics of the sites. Now that we can manage the material in bulk and reduce the number of containers needed to collect and store recyclables on site, we were able to revise our recycling contract price. The newly installed equipment will pay for itself in roughly one year and subsequently save approximately $105,000.00 per year in the operating budget. In the Fall of 2004, due to the increased number of residents using the St. Andrews Convenience Center and the need for additional on-site storage capacity, the Department completed the design and construction of an 80’ extension to the existing convenience center wall. In order to improve safety and eliminate confusion to the users the interior circulation of traffic was revised as a part of the design.

Parks and Public Facilities

Beginning in September 1998, as a part of a Maryland Environmental Services Grant, recycling containers will be provided for the public at the following locations; Joseph P. Weick Community Playground (1), Chancellor’s Run Regional Park (3), Judge P.H. Dorsey Memorial Park (2), Fifth District Park (2), Myrtle Point Park (2), Laurel Grove Park (1), George B. Cecil Memorial Park (2), St. Andrews Park (1), Elms Public Beach (1), Country Lakes Athletic Fields (1), Hollywood Soccer Fields (1), and St. Mary’s County Airport. Glass plastic and aluminum cans may be recycled at these locations. Future projects may include other public athletic fields, boat landings and piers. For more information contact the Department of Recreation and Parks at (301) 475-4576 or the Department of Public Works Recycling Coordinator at (301) 863-8400.

Residential Special Bulk Pick-Up

Bulky waste is collected by residents self-hauling the materials to the St. Andrews Landfill and by private waste collection firms which must find alternative disposal facilities. Much of the bulky waste generated is steel, scrap metal, furniture and mattresses, which is directed to the appropriate collection points at the St. Andrews Landfill. Private waste hauling companies provide special collection services to their regular MSW route collection customer on an as-requested basis, charging customers a fee for these special collections. In June 2000, the Department of Public Works & Transportation recommended award of a residential special bulk pick-up collection services contract in anticipation of the rubble fill closure on July 1, 2001. This service is intended to assist seniors and residents with special needs whom are unable to transport bulky materials to the St. Andrews Landfill and / or do not contract with a private waste hauling firm for regular