Garbage dumped on Maryland highways cost taxpayers $16M in 2025

April Santana, Baltimore Sun on Mar 25, 2026

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Driving in Ellicott City on Saturday, Gwen Everett almost couldn’t believe the amount of trash she saw on the side of the northbound ramp from Route 103 to U.S. Route 29 — an upside-down wooden side table sat next to stacks of 32 used tires, in eight piles of four on the shoulder.

Everett, of Ellicott City, has been appalled by the growing heaps of garbage on roadsides in the county she has lived in for more than 30 years.

“There’s no way you can travel north on (Route) 29 or south on (Route) 29 and not see the massive amount of trash,” Everett said. “(Route 29) goes through the heart of the county, and that is definitely where it’s seen, or it’s more prevalent. … (It’s) absolutely trashed.”

The State Highway Administration said the agency cleared the Howard County debris Tuesday morning, but the 32 tires are one example of a continuous illegal dumping problem in the state, which costs Maryland residents millions of dollars every year.

In 2025, the SHA removed more than 5 million pounds of litter and debris from state highways, spending more than $16 million on cleanup efforts, according to Danny Allman, a spokesperson with the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration.

“The goal is to keep Maryland looking beautiful and encourage folks to partner with us by putting trash where it belongs — in a trash can,” Allman said in a statement. “The problem is getting worse and SHA is ramping litter debris removal.”

Illegal dumping is the “intentional discharge of debris on either public or private property,” according to the agency’s website. Bulky items are the most frequent types of illegal dumping, including objects such as tires, appliances, furniture, abandoned home goods and building materials.

“Due to the size and bulk of illegally dumped items, it costs additional tax dollars to remove than what is allocated in the general litter budget,” according to the website. “Illegal dumping not only negatively affects nearby constituents, whose property values can be impacted, but every taxpayer who must foot the bill of the additional expense required for removal. In addition, illegal dumping makes our roads unsightly, it has significant public health, safety, and environmental impacts.”

Howard County’s Department of Public Works’ Bureau of Highways collected 3,152 bags of trash along county roadways in fiscal 2025, according to Bureau Chief Kris Jagarapu. In addition to county staff, Howard also had to use outside vendors for its litter pickup and spent more than $100,000.

Litter is a continuous problem in Howard, he said. Last fiscal year there were more than 600 location requests for the department to pick up litter.

“(It’s) the taxpayers’ money that is getting spent on (picking up) stuff that is getting thrown on the side of the roadway; that money could very well be spent on a lot of other items,” Jagarapu said.

Disposal options in Howard

Howard County has one active landfill — the Alpha Ridge Landfill — in Marriottsville. Howard residents can drop off small quantities of household trash and unlimited recyclables, according to the county website. Certain fees apply for commercial or bulky items.

If the tires piled on the side of the highway were taken to the landfill, it would have cost $128.50 to dispose of them, due to the $120 flat rate for up to 30 tires and the additional $4.25 per tire over the amount.

Garbage rates were last increased on July 1, 2025. Jagarapu does not think the increased rates have deterred residents from using the landfill, noting the long lines every weekend. Residents are also able to schedule bulk pickup with the county Department of Public Works.

“We have a resource right in our county — it’s a great facility, extremely organized, very clean, well managed, always well staffed, but yet you’re still (seeing) trash thrown out of windows and dumping of large pieces of property, scrap metal, barber chair, small pieces of furniture, large pieces of plastic,” Everett said.

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