Alpha Ridge Landfill

Alpha Ridge Landfill
Location of Alpha Ridge Landfill in Maryland
Country	United States
Location	Marriottsville, Maryland
Coordinates	39°30′51″N 76°55′30″W / 39.51417°N 76.92500°W / 39.51417; -76.92500Coordinates: 39°30′51″N 76°55′30″W / 39.51417°N 76.92500°W / 39.51417; -76.92500
Status	Operational
Commission date	1980
Solar field
Site area	590 acres
Power generation
Nameplate capacity	1059KW
Website https://www.howardcountymd.gov/Departments/Public-Works/Bureau-Of-Environmental-Services/Alpha-Ridge-Landfill

The Alpha Ridge Landfill (Alpha Ridge Sanitary Landfill) is a municipal solid waste landfill located in Marriottsville, Maryland, once known as the postal town of Alpha, Maryland.

Alpha Ridge is the third official landfill built in Howard County, Maryland. Howard County's first landfill was New Cut in Ellicott City, Maryland which operated from 1944 to 1980 followed by Carr's Mill, operated between 1953 and 1977.

Alpha Ridge was proposed in the late 1970s as an unpopular project that strained the public participation process to address the needs of a population expansion that would quadruple while it was in operation. The search for a third County landfill started in 1973 with opposition causing the drop of selections at Triadelphia Road and Route 144, Interstate 70 and Sand Hill Road and Henryton Road at Route 99. In 1976 the search centered around the 600-acre Burliegh Manor slave plantation purchased by future Maple Lawn developer Steward Greenbaum. Community members quit the site study claiming they were denied meaningful participation. When updating the historical status of the plantation in 1976, County archivist Cleora Barnes Thompson added "It should be stated here that the presence of a landfill in the surrounding area of Burliegh might not be in any way harmful as it will prevent the encroachment of future suburban development and will later provide a large area for a park, recreation or open space". Protests from citizens and Goodloe Byron against Clarksville, Guilford and Ellicott City sites left Marriotsville as the site with least opposition. Gibes Realty-Woodbrier Enterprises put together an offer of $3900 and acre to purchase land contracts. The Company owners, Robert and James Moxley were the original land speculators for Columbia and children of former County Chairman Norman E. Moxley. In February 1977 the Gibes-Woodbrier Alpha Ridge site was selected at the end of County Executive Edward L. Cochran's term. His wife became the realtor for the subdivision of Burleigh Manor afterward. Howard County Citizens for Conservation gathered 3000 signatures against the project and sued the county for lack of public meetings on the selection. The suit was dismissed in May with acknowledgement that meetings did not have adequate notice. In May 1979 the Maryland State Health department granted the permit for Alpha Ridge. The initial site was built on a compacted base without liners. Residents were informed that Alpha Ridge would operate until the year 2000 without expansion and be converted to a park at the end of its collection phase. BFI Recycling service started in 1989 as part of a Maryland initiative to increase recycling to 20% by 1994. The same year a $52 million project was earmarked to bring the landfill into compliance with Maryland Environmental regulations. By 1990, Alpha Ridge operations cost $75 a ton. In 1992, Howard County proposed to expand the landfill, beyond its original 2.3 million ton capacity. $11 million was budgeted to install cell liners on the remainder of the property to bring capacity up to 6.8 million tons. Citizen opposed the expansion showing documentation from 1978 that the intent was not to expand. Public hearings on expansion in February were emptied by the fire marshal for overcrowding. In 1993, Ecker sought alternatives as groundwater contamination suits were imminent. He proposed a regional trash incinerator facility with Anne Arundel County to provide power to NSA. On 8 June 1994, the County Council voted 5-0 to start transporting trash out of the county. An Anne Arundel transfer site was choose for the USA Waste residential contract and the historic Trinity Church graveyard in Elkridge was selected as a transfer station for the BFI commercial waste contract by creating a solid waste overlay zoning for the site. Alpha ridge remained in operation as hearings were held about lack of notification for the Elkridge waste transfer facility, and concerns about importing out of county residential waste. The redirection of waste at Alpha Ridge lost the $60 per ton commercial waste revenue, but reduced the residential collection expense to $33 a ton. Alpha Ridge remains open as a recycling center and transfer station. The Trinity Church trash transfer location was converted to the Blue Stream Housing development in 2014.