Montgomery County Councilmember Evan Glass said he would back a resolution supporting long-term use of the Dickerson Resource Recovery Facility, while arguing that a food-scrap composting facility should be built right away. The council voted 6-5 on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, for the nonbinding resolution. Glass, an at-large member, voted yes. “I will be supporting this resolution,” he said in remarks before the vote.
The resolution supports long-term use of the incinerator and the start of an in-county composting facility. It directs the County Executive to develop plans for facility improvements through the Fiscal Year 2027-2032 Capital Improvements Program, and further funding approval would be needed. The council has already approved $28 million for a centralized composting facility. The county extended its contract with the facility’s operator in November 2024 through April 2031, with an option for early termination. Outgoing County Executive Marc Elrich had proposed closing the facility and hauling trash out of state.
Composting First
Glass said residents tell him the clearest way to cut the county’s waste is more food composting. He said food scraps make up about one quarter of the waste the county produces and that only about 10% is estimated to be composted. He said he keeps a backyard food composter and does not expect everyone to do the same, but that the county needs to do more to support composting.
“We need to immediately build a composting facility,” Glass said. He said it should not wait on the larger debate. “It cannot be held hostage for any other policy decision,” he said. The recording did not specify where such a facility would go or when it could open beyond the funding the council has already approved.
Why He Rejected the Closure Plan
Glass described two proposals from the county executive. He said the first, two years ago, was a facility costing nearly a billion dollars, and that every council member rejected it in the budget process because it would have added hundreds of dollars to each person’s tax bill. He said this year’s proposal would close the incinerator and truck the county’s trash to Virginia.
Glass said that plan would add hundreds of diesel trucks leaving the Rockville transfer station, and that trash in a landfill gives off methane, which he called one of the worst contributors to climate change. “That weighs on me,” he said of the trucking.
Questions About Cost
Glass said the cost of trucking trash to Virginia has never been shared with the council, publicly or privately. He said any option, including the Virginia plan and the composting facility, will cost money that has to be placed in the next operating and capital budgets by the next county executive and council. He said some information he requested has still not been presented to the council.
A Message to the Next Council
Glass said the council was asked to decide without enough information. He said the next council will have a long public record to review, including videos and thousands of pages, so it does not need five more full council sessions on the issue. He said there are alternatives to what he called a “binary choice” that have not been discussed or pursued.
What’s Next
The new county executive and five new council members take office in about two weeks. Will Jawando, the county executive-elect, voted against the resolution and has said the real decision will rest with the incoming council. The operator contract runs through April 2031. The recording did not specify when the council or the executive will take up funding for facility upgrades.
