Council opens long‑term solid waste review; staff outlines four options including closure of incinerator

County staff opened a briefing on the long‑term disposal of Montgomery County’s solid waste, calling the decision “a once in a generation” choice and setting out four broad options for the council to weigh: keep and comprehensively renovate the county’s Resource Recovery Facility; close the RRF and long‑haul mixed waste to out‑of‑county landfills; close the RRF and rely on advanced waste processing (AWP) to extract more recyclables before landfilling residuals; or delay RRF closure until AWP is ready and available.

Keith Levchenko, introduced to the dais as the staff lead for the briefing, walked the council through the facility’s recent throughput (about 549,000–600,000 tons in FY25), the current contract extensions, and short‑term capital spending (roughly $64.5 million spread over several fiscal years). He summarized the Arcadis consultant analysis and noted an Arcadis estimate of about $356 million to refurbish the RRF as one ballpark figure; staff also said the executive’s FY27 budget had recommended a closure date of 01/01/2027 and a shift to long‑haul. "Closing the RRF by 01/01/2027 and transitioning to long haul by truck" was described as the executive recommendation, but the council president had postponed a final policy decision until post‑budget fall work sessions.

Councilmembers used the briefing to press for written data and procurement materials: cost comparisons of RRF renovation vs. long‑haul and AWP; details on settlement/closeout costs; the number and timing of trucks required for long‑haul; environmental analyses comparing incineration emissions versus landfill methane and groundwater risks; and an equity screening of proposed host landfills. DEP director Jennifer Macedonia told the council that written responses and vendor RFP analyses were in final review and would be provided soon; staff committed to assembling additional data for intensive fall work sessions with a goal (if possible) of reaching a council decision by Thanksgiving. The briefing closed with a council directive to collect specific cost, environmental and community impact information and proceed with frequent fall work sessions to deliberate the options.