Green Hypocrisy. The Case of Baltimore’s Bresco Waste-to-Energy Incinerator

One definition of hypocrisy is pretending to have beliefs, values, or virtues that your actions do not match. In simple terms, it means saying one thing and doing another.

On June 4^th, 2024, Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed executive order 01.01.2024.19, Implementing Maryland’s Climate Pollution Reduction Plan. It stated Climate change poses an existential threat to the economy, natural resources, and public health for every Maryland resident. Maryland communities, particularly historically marginalized and overburdened communities, are disproportionately impacted by climate change. Maryland's Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022 set ambitious climate goals for the State, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 60% by 2031 and obtaining net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. The Climate Pollution Reduction Plan estimates that the implementation of new climate policies will generate up to $1.2 billion in public health benefits, $2.5 billion increase in personal income for Marylanders, and a net gain of 27,400 jobs between now and 2031. 

Clearly an ambitious plan to take on climate change that some describe as the greatest single threat to human existence. But how serious are the green advocates in Annapolis in taking on one of the single largest CO2 emitters in the state, and one that can’t possibly be missed while driving the interstate through Baltimore.

I am talking about that large smokestack along I-95 in downtown Baltimore. This is the Bresco waste incinerator, the waste-to-energy plant that burns up to 2,250 tons of Baltimore’s municipal trash every day. The Bresco incinerator is the 10^th largest incinerator in the country, the largest single polluter in the city, and accounts for 36% of its total air emissions. Bresco’s one smokestack emits more NOx into Baltimore’s air than ever other stationary industrial source in the city combined, some 75% of the total releases. It is also one of the largest NOx emitters in the state. The NOx emissions are so large that closing the facility would be equal to taking over half the cars off Baltimore’s roads.  Every year, the incinerator emits more sulfur dioxide into Baltimore’s air than all the cars and trucks on the road eight times over. It is also the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions, releasing 690,033 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. Lead emissions have totaled over 10,000 pounds since the plant began operations in 1985. The plant emits between 60 and 120 pounds of airborne mercury annually. This is over 30 times more mercury emissions per unit of energy produced than regional coal plants.