Howard County Non-Residential Recycling Initiatives

The Howard County Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with the business community, institutions, business associations, recycling industry and Howard County Government Bureau of Environmental Services, is working to develop sustainable initiatives and a recycling program for the non-residential community to promote increased and more effective recycling efforts.
These initiatives will be developed by a task force of stakeholder representatives that will develop a recycling program along with an educational and marketing campaign. Additionally, this group will see it through initiation and continue to promote awareness for this significant environmental initiative.
The task force is being represented by the following partners and organizations: Evelyn Tomlin (co-chair), Howard County Bureau of Environmental Services; Wayne Wilhelm (co-chair), Wilhelm Commercial Builders; Pam Klahr, Howard County Chamber of Commerce; Josh Feldmark (co-chair), exective director of the Howard County's Commission on the Environment & Sustainablility; Alan Wilcom, Howard County Recycling Division; Pete Mangione, Turf Valley Resort; Tien Pham, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream; John Bruns III, Green Connected; Stan Sersen, Green Building Institute; Jay Blackman, Howard County General Hospital; Rick Candy, Howard County General Hospital; Dianna Wilhelm, NAIOP board member; Lynn Berger, BOMA board member; Jim Loesch, International Facility Management Association board member/The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL); Todd Ramsburg, APL; Matt Fadrowski, General Growth Properties; Marshall Weston, Maryland Restaurant Association; Bob Marietta, Howard Community College; Becky Mangus, The Business Monthly; Mike Keough, E-Structures, Inc.; and Ron Meliker, The Kane Co.
Additional partners are being sought as the task force works with and solicits proposals from the recycling industry to develop sustainable programs. The goal is to develop programs that take the recycled waste, including specialty materials, from the user, through collection and delivery to the recycling facility.
An educational program will be developed as well as a conduit for the distribution of marketing materials about the recycling programs. The organizations noted above will reach out to more than 6,000 businesses during the coming months, with the program launch date scheduled for later this year.
The ultimate goal of the program is to present information in a simplified manner so participants can make basic changes in their recycling habits that will collectivity make a significant impact on the environment. For more information, contact Wayne Wilhelm at wwilhelm@wilhelmbuilders.com.