Blue Water Baltimore
Doing the Dirty Work
Keep Maryland Beautiful grant recipient Blue Water Baltimore is facilitating extensive litter cleanups
throughout Baltimore City
Let’s talk about trash. Unglamorous as it may be, trash is ubiquitous. The average person produces 4.4
pounds of municipal solid waste per day – that adds up to over 1,600 pounds per year. Many of us
dispose of our waste in the appropriate receptacles and never see or think of it again. But all of that
trash has to go somewhere, and unfortunately, it does not always end up in a landfill. Litter is a
particular concern for the Baltimore City region. Over 600,000 people live in Baltimore City, producing
waste each and every day. Trash that does not end up in a landfill often ends up in stormwater runoff
drains, making its way into one of the many rivers and creeks that flow through the Baltimore City
region, eventually entering the Baltimore Harbor and the greater Chesapeake Bay watershed. The
consequences of this pollution are tremendous, so one organization has taken action to protect the
water in and around Baltimore City.
Blue Water Baltimore is the city’s largest and most active watershed nonprofit. Though trash removal is
their largest initiative, their overarching approach to water protection is more holistic. In addition to the
litter removal projects, Blue Water Baltimore also works in advocacy, forestry, education and
community development.
Keeping an area the size of Baltimore City clean is no easy feat. However, with the help of over 3,000
volunteers, Blue Water Baltimore is making great strides in cleaning up the city. Blue Water Baltimore
hosts two to five volunteer events each weekend; volunteers at trash removal events collect anywhere
from 1,800 to 7,000 pounds of trash per cleanup. Alison Young, Volunteer Coordinator for Blue Water
Baltimore, says she hopes these events promote a sense of “environmental and community
stewardship” amongst the volunteers. In recognition of their incredible efforts to keep the city free of
trash, Blue Water Baltimore was awarded a Clean Up & Green Up Maryland grant from the Keep
Maryland Beautiful program. Ms. Young says that the funding provided by the grant will help support
the trash cleanup initiatives being held throughout the city.
The Spring 2017 Keep Maryland Beautiful grants were sponsored by Maryland Environmental Trust,
State Highway Administration, and the Department of Housing and Community Development.
For more information about Blue Water Baltimore and volunteer opportunities, please
visit: https://www.bluewaterbaltimore.org/
Protecting Land Forever
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