About
Each year, the Maryland Department of the Environment requires Howard County to report recycling activities taking place within the county. We’ve made the reporting process simple! Your help is priceless.
All businesses that report their recycling efforts will become Work Green Howard certified. You will receive a Work Green Howard certificate and window cling to proudly display to the community. As a Work Green Howard business you are eligible to apply for our annual Business Recycling and Waste Reduction award and/or our Green Community Leadership award.
We thank you for helping make Howard County a greener place to live, work and visit!
Green Awards
The Business Recycling & Waste Reduction Award recognizes Howard County businesses for their efforts during the previous calendar year.
The Green Community Leadership Award recognizes a Howard County-based community group or organization that demonstrates efforts, projects or programs that help protect Howard County's natural environment and preserve its resources.
The 2022 "Business Recycling and Waste Reduction" and “Green Community Leadership” winners received handmade trophies crafted by a local sculptor, using recycled metal components. Award winners will also become certified Work Green Howard businesses.
Congratulations Winners!
Upcycled, Inc. identified an opportunity to manufacture plastic lumber from recycled items, including building a picnic bench, park bench and garden bed for a County beautification program. Through its efforts, the company has thus far collected and recycled more than 1,070 pounds of plastic and removed 500 pounds of litter and waste from County parks and waterways.
Indigo Ink Digital Printing, Inc. is a recipient of the Forest Stewardship Council certification, which assures the company’s products either come from recycled material, forest material that meets environmental and social standards, or a combination of both. They have also partnered with PrintReleaf to track paper usage and participate in reforestation projects for the equivalent of trees they have used. As of January 1, 2022, the company has planted 9,309 trees via PrintReleaf.
RepaintUSA is a latex paint recycler based out of Elkton, Maryland. In 2021, the company recycled more than 14,000 gallons of paint, some of which the company collected from the County’s Household Hazardous Waste program. Through a partnership it has with the Loading Dock in Baltimore, after RepaintUSA processes the recycled latex paint, it is sold again to consumers at a discounted rate.
Emerson Community Association consistently considers the environmental impact of their programs for their community association. A Bee City Program participant, the association has hosted a number of restoration projects, tree plants, collected pumpkins for animal consumption at a local Howard County non-profit farm, and collaborated with the Office of the County Executive on the Green Infrastructure network.
Launched in 2015, Wilde Lake CARES is a grassroots environmental committee in Wilde Lake Village. Since its inception, the committee has given away more than 200 native trees, installed native plantings in common areas of Wilde Lake, recruited volunteers for invasive species removal projects, held bi-annual neighborhood clean-up events, hosted three plant swaps and advocated to Columbia Association for installation of three Bioretention facilities.
To educate Patapsco Valley State Park visitors about water quality and pollution, river and bay knowledge, and appreciation, benefits and methods for reducing plastic disposables, the Friends of Patapsco Valley State Park created a mobile visitor center. Utilizing the onboard Wi-Fi, park rangers and naturalists are able to share web-based information such as iNaturalist, a web application that maps and shares biodiversity observations around the world, showing Patapsco based flora and fauna.
VolunTeens is a non-profit organization that teaches teens about the importance of environmentalism and sustainability by pairing them with service projects throughout Howard County.
To help feed the homeless, VolunTeens hosts cooking classes using bumper vegetable crops it receives through a partnership with the Community Ecology Institute, as well as fresh ingredients from Freetown Farm.
Through a partnership with the County’s Office of Community Sustainability, VolunTeens has helped provide reusable lunch bags to students, avoiding the need for single-use plastics in schools.