Division of Solid Waste Management
Rules and Regulations

Effective January 1, 2002

1. The Board of County Commissioners of Cecil County through its Department of Public Works operates three solid waste disposal facilities in the county  - one Central Sanitary Disposal Facility and two Transfer Stations.  The Central Landfill is located South of MD Route 7, approximately one and one-half miles east of North East, Maryland.  One transfer station is located on Stemmer's Run Road near the town of Earleville, while the other is located in the Woodlawn area of Cecil County, off Firetower Road.

2. Refuse is accepted at the Central Landfill from commercial and industrial haulers or from County residents.  All residential vehicles may be required to present a valid Maryland Driver's License and Registration with a current Cecil County address.  No solid waste or special waste generated from out-of-county sources is accepted at the landfill or transfer stations owned and operated by Cecil County, Maryland.

Operating Hours

4. Holidays: the Central Landfill and Transfer Stations are closed on the following holidays:

5. Dumping shall be in such areas as designated by the operating personnel and in accordance with the state issued operating permit.  Dumping in other areas is strictly prohibited.  The access road to the Landfill facility has a posted speed limit, which must be obeyed.

6. All open vehicles shall be properly covered while transporting refuse.  All vehicles must remain covered until the vehicle reaches the appropriate tarp removal area.

7. Abandoned or discarded vehicles will not be accepted at any of the Solid Waste Facilities.

8. No liquid or hazardous waste shall be accepted at any of the Solid Waste Disposal Facilities.

9. Temporary residents with out-of-state tags are required to obtain a permit (no charge) from your local landfill transfer station.  No one with out-of-state registration will be permitted to use the Solid Waste Receiving Facilities without a permit issued by the Department of Public-Works.  No refuse originating from outside Cecil County will be accepted.

10. All users of the County's Solid Waste Facilities shall, upon request, provide proof of vehicle registration, residency, source of waste, and other information as deemed necessary by the Solid Waste Facility representative.

11. The user shall clean up any spillage or fallen debris from vehicles using the disposal facilities immediately.  Violation of this section may result in revocation of disposal privileges and an additional clean-up charge levied against the user during the next visit.

12.  All users shall promptly dispose of waste as designated and remove their vehicles from the disposal area and site in a courteous and prompt manner (20 minute limit).  Any vehicle that breaks down and becomes inoperable must be removed by the operator from the premises by closing time.  If the vehicle is unable to be removed by the operator, the vehicle will be impounded and/or towed with towing charges billed to the vehicle's owner at the county's discretion.  No roll-off boxes, trailers or other containers shall be placed or stored at any of the County owned facilities.  The county shall not be held liable for damage that may result from such actions.  Loitering and/or disruption of normal County operations or interference with any County employee, his agents, or other users or visitors to the facility, shall be grounds for immediate removal of the violator, revocation of disposal privileges, and possible legal action.

13.  All children must be accompanied by an adult at all times while utilizing the solid waste facility.  Pets must remain in vehicles at all times.

14. All users entering and using the disposal facilities do so at their own risk.  The County shall not be responsible for any property damage or bodily injury sustained by the user.

15. The user of the disposal facility is both personally and financially responsible for any damage to County land, equipment, improvements, or other property, directly or indirectly caused by the user.

16. Any additional regulations or laws promulgated or enacted by Cecil County, regarding vehicles, refuse collection, landfill conduct, or use of public places, shall pertain to all users of County disposal facilities, together with any fines or penalties established.

17. Products delivered for disposal that are deemed useful for present landfill operations (clean dirt, clean stone, etc.) may be accepted at the discretion of the Superintendent of Solid Waste without charge.  These materials are to be inspected and approved by the Superintendent in advance, before materials are brought to the facility.

18. The following materials are accepted FREE at all of the solid waste facilities:

• Antifreeze
• Lead/Acid Car Batteries
• Targeted Recyclables (for definitions, see: Schedule of Rates)
• Used motor oil, diesel fuel, kerosene

All materials must be put in appropriate collection containers and not mixed with any other materials.

The following additional materials are accepted FREE at the Central Solid Waste facility location only:

•  Appliances
• Brush - 3" in diameter x 6' in length or less
• Corrugated Cardboard (residents only)
• Newspaper
• Mixed Office and Computer paper
• Scrap metal

As of January 1, 1994, tires were banned from being landfilled.  All users are responsible for their proper disposal.

19. Hours and days of operation may be changed by the County as needed.  Generally, any non-emergency or special situations requiring such changes will be posted at the sites and released to the press in a timely manner.

20. The location for general disposal and for specific items may change from time to time due to internal and/or external factors.  Waste requiring special disposal areas and/or preparation by the disposer may require prior confirmation and/or special fees.

21. Identification stickers, cards and/or ticket books may be issued by the County for landfill users.  These stickers, cards or ticket books must be presented by the operator of the vehicle for entrance into the disposal facilities.  The stickers, cards and/or ticket books are non-transferable.

22. All landfill users are required to show proof that waste originates from within Cecil County; this can be verified as follows:

      22.1.  Residential route information including customer names and addresses, pickup schedule, truck number.

     22.2. Copy of manifest or contract.

23. Transfer Stations (only) - Tires, mattresses and items greater than four feet in length, and other bulky items will be accepted only at the discretion of the weigh master on duty.  All other bulky items and yard waste will be accepted at the Central Landfill.  The County may elect to increase recycling opportunities by providing containers for the above-mentioned recyclables at one or both of the Transfer Stations.  All loads are subject to inspection.

24. Yard waste is defined as vegetative matter found in and around the property such as, but not limited to, leaves, grass, brush, tree trimmings, and limbs not exceeding 3" in diameter and 6' feet in length; Christmas trees; and, certain garden and orchard material.  Excluded are stumps, logs, branches, and limbs over 3" in diameter, and roots from soil grubbing.

25. It shall be a violation of these Rules and Regulations to mix yard waste with any other waste for disposal at any County facility.  Yard waste should be separated and deposited at the designated location only at the Central Landfill.  The Transfer Stations will not accept yard waste.

26. Yard waste delivered in containers must be removed from the container and the container either taken back by the homeowner for reuse or disposed of in accordance with methods prescribed for the type of the container.

27. Mulch or compost that has been processed at the Central Landfill facility may be purchased for a fee of $5.00 per pick-up or single-axle trailer load.  Combination loads of pick-ups and trailers will be charged $10.00.  Passenger cars and mini-vans will be charged a per load fee of $2.00 for mulch hauled out in containers or bags.  No commercial vehicles or resellers of mulch are permitted.  No guarantee of availability or quality of mulch or compost will be made.

28. Fees

     28.1.  Pursuant to Article 25, Section 14A, of the Annotated Code of Maryland, Cecil County operates solid waste disposal facilities within Cecil County for use by residents.  The Cecil County Commissioners are authorized to establish fees for waste accepted at the County solid waste disposal facilities.  Rates are subject to periodic adjustment approved by The Board of County Commissioners of Cecil County.

     28.2.  The Solid Waste Management Program is operated as an enterprise fund, which means that the program is funded through the collection of user fees.  Rates indicated in the following schedule have been established with the exception noted.

     28.3.  Fees for disposal shall be payable immediately upon dumping unless the customer has an established credit account with Cecil County.   If a customer desires to establish a credit account, an application for credit must be filed with the Cecil County Department of Public Works.  Approved credit customers will be sent monthly invoices for disposed waste.  Payment shall be due by the last day of the current billing month.  Those accounts not paid by the end of the month will be considered delinquent and are subject to a $5.00 late charge and a 1% interest charge per month on the balance of the account, whichever is greater.  If the account is not fully paid with interest within 15 days of the closing date, the account will be closed and all disposal privileges will be revoked.  No partial payments will be accepted.  There will be a $25.00 charge to close out the account and this charge will be added to the delinquent balance.  The delinquent account must be paid in full to re-establish disposal privileges.  The customer should allow the County four (4) working days to reopen or set up a credit account on the computer.  The customer must pay cash in the interim.  A $25.00 charge will be applied on all checks returned due to insufficient funds.

     28.4.  Targeted Recyclables are defined as (no allowances for partial or wet loads will be made):

     28.5.  Schedule of Rates

          28.5.1.  Scales In Service
If landfill scales are in service, solid waste will be accepted and charged at a rate of $52.00 per ton, except as follows:

               28.5.1.1.  Vehicles that contain targeted recyclables only (No Solid Waste), will be permitted to off-load at no charge.  To qualify, refuse must be free of all recyclable materials and enclosed in clear trash bags.  Containers of recycled materials must be easily inspected.

               28.5.1.2.  Residential vehicles that contain mixed loads of separated recyclables and refuse will be permitted to off load at no charge.  To qualify, refuse must be free of all recyclable materials and enclosed in clear trash bags.  Containers of recycled materials must be easily inspected.

               28.5.1.3.  Residential vehicles that contain furniture will be charged $5.00.

               28.5.1.4.  Residential vehicles that contain trash or other waste types without separating recyclables will be charged a $5.00 user fee; vehicles that are loaded over half full (200 lbs.) will be placed on scales and charged the tipping fee rate of $52.00 per ton; at the discretion of the weigh-master on duty.

               28.5.1.5.  Tires are a separate charge from the above user fees.  Tires will be charged as follows:

* Truck tires on the rim cannot be accepted. Large or tractor type tires cannot be accepted in their whole state; however, tires in excess of 22.5 inch diameter may be cut into quarters by the user and brought to the landfill and the charge will be $5.00 for the four quarters.

             28.5.2.    Scales Not In Service

When the scales are not in service, the rates shall be based on the "running average weights"  for the customer that are stored in the Landfill's computer.  If the frequency of the customer is such that an average for a specific vehicle has not been established, the following charges will apply at the facility experiencing the outage.  The following charges are per load:

     28.6. Handling of Tires

Tires are segregated from all other waste types. Tires must be disposed of separately at the appropriate recycling areas.  Homeowners are permitted to dispose of no more than four (4) scrap tires per vehicle per day.  If there are more than four tires, a Tire Haulers Permit from the Maryland Department of the Environment will be required to dispose of tires.  Holders of such permits may dispose of twenty (20) tires per day without advance arrangements; if approved at least three (3) business days in advance by the Superintendent of Solid Waste, up to 160 tires may be disposed in one day.  In considering such a request, the Superintendent will require information regarding the source and location of the tires. 

All commercial haulers must have a Valid Tire Haulers Permit from the Maryland Department of the Environment in order to dispose of tires at any Cecil County Solid Waste Facility.

As of January 1, 1994, tires were banned from being landfilled.

[Commercial refuse haulers and other landfill customers delivering waste to the working face for disposal are responsible for ensuring that their loads do not contain tires or other prohibited items.  In the event a commercial refuse hauler or other landfill customer's load contains tires, the tires will be removed from the area of the working face by landfill personnel and set off to the side.  The operator will be notified by the spotter or at the landfill scale House that they had tire(s) in their load and will be given the option of immediately returning to the landfill working face to retrieve and properly dispose of the tires.  If the operator retrieves the tire(s) for proper disposal, they will be charged a tire recovery fee of $25.00 per tire, in addition to being billed at the rate of $52.00 a ton for the entire load.  If the operator refuses or fails to retrieve the tire(s), then they will be charged at the tire-mixed-with-refuse rate ($200/ton) for the entire load.] 
    

28.7.  Handling of Asbestos, Contaminated Soils and House-Trailers

Due to the added cost of handling house trailers, asbestos, and contaminated soils (soils contaminated with oil and/or gasoline which have been approved for disposal by Maryland Department of the Environment) from commercial accounts, a "Special Fee" will be charged.  This charge is three times the normal charge per ton with a minimum one-ton charge for House Trailers, asbestos, and contaminated soils.  No allowance will be made for partial or mixed loads of asbestos and contaminated soil.  In order to dispose of asbestos or contaminated soils, the proper paperwork must be completed.  The Central Landfill must be notified at least one week before disposal of any of this material will be permitted.  For information concerning the current requirements for disposal of asbestos and contaminated soils, contact the Central Landfill at (410) 996-6275.  A copy of the asbestos regulation is available upon request.

     28.8. Handling of Waste Generated by Community Groups

There will be no charge to approved community service waste removal projects.