In case you haven’t heard about the Baltimore Environmental Sustainability Network (BESN), we’re excited to introduce you to this important initiative!

My name is Sam Sobel, and I am the Baltimore Climate Action Coordinator for Adamah. The BESN is a collection of Jewish organizations and individuals in the area, working to promote a more sustainable Jewish Baltimore. This network is pioneered by Mark Smolarz and The Associated, and is co-chaired by Mark, Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin (longtime local environmental activist and former Board Chair of Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake), and myself.

While the BESN focuses on community collaboration, we also work with Jewish organizations in the area on their own internal climate action, through Adamah’s national Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition. Open to any Jewish nonprofit at no cost, the Coalition (adamah.org/coalition) is made up of community organizations that recognize the existential threat and moral urgency of climate change. The Coalition works to strengthen climate actions within an organization, while the BESN works to promote community collaboration and external engagement. Any Jewish community organization in Baltimore is welcome to join both.  

Caring for our Community 

There are many tangible ways to care for your community. You might donate food to the hungry, participate in a stream clean up, or volunteer at a local clinic, for example. But the busyness of our lives is often consuming, and many times we don’t have the time to engage in all of the community support that we would like to. If this resonates with you, and you’re thinking “well, I care about my community, but I’m really not sure if I have the time to engage in activities like the ones above”, you’re in luck. In the current Maryland session, there will be bills raised that can have a positive impact on your community. BESN will be focusing specifically on advocating for three environmental bills that would allow for widespread community care. 

I’m Just a Bill, on a Maryland Hill 

Maryland Beverage Container Recycling Refund and Litter Reduction Program (a.k.a. Maryland Bottle Bill): 

There are approximately 5.5 billion beverage bottles sold annually in Maryland, of which over 4 billion contribute to pollution in Maryland waterways. This includes the Chesapeake Bay, threatening marine and other wildlife as well as human health.

Beverage container deposit programs are a proven, highly effective policy for recovering used beverage containers and reducing litter. States with a 10-cent deposit have achieved beverage container recycling rates of 90%.  

The proposed Maryland program would place a 10 to 15 cent refundable deposit (depending on container size) on plastic, glass, and aluminum beverage containers. The deposit would be refunded when consumers return the container to a retailer or other redemption point for recycling.  

The CHERISH Our Communities Act (from Cumulative Harms to Environmental Restoration for Improving our Shared Health): 

While the visibility of environmental justice as a critical issue has increased in recent years, Maryland’s permitting system has not yet been reformed to address the priorities of frontline communities. In South Baltimore alone, residents are surrounded by nearly 100 EPA-regulated polluting facilities, including the nation’s largest medical waste incinerator, multiple landfills, a wastewater treatment and asphalt production plants, chemical manufacturing, and heavy truck routes surrounding the community’s rec center. The pollution from these facilities has resulted in the involuntary displacement of entire communities in the area. 

Other states have found success in permitting reform led by experienced grassroots leaders in overburdened communities. Inspired by this process, the South Baltimore Community Land Trust has worked with the Mid-Atlantic Justice Coalition to develop the CHERISH Act. This bill will apply new permitting requirements to a list of facilities and permit types of greatest concern to overburdened communities across Maryland. 

Wasted Food Reduction and Diversion Fund and Grant Programs (BESN legislative priority):

This legislative proposal would establish three grant programs to support food waste reduction and organic recycling in Maryland.  

The On-Farm Organics Diversion and Recycling Grant program would support farmers seeking to invest in on-farm compost or using compost as a fertilizer substitute. The Wasted Food Reduction and Diversion Grant program would support businesses, nonprofits, and other eligible organizations in their efforts to reduce food waste, increase food rescue and donation, and set up composting infrastructure. The final program funds in-school compost and food waste diversion. The bill also includes block grants for counties to fund their own projects to reduce and divert food waste from landfills and incinerators. 

The bill as proposed would fund these grants by assessing a two-dollar per ton surcharge on waste disposed of at incinerators, landfills, and tipping stations. 

Turning conversation into action 

Baltimore community members are welcome to join the BESN in this advocacy work during session. Additionally, all Jewish Marylanders are invited to Maryland Jewish Advocacy Day tomorrow, February 11th (register here). On a federal level, Jewish Earth Alliance will be hosting a virtual lobby day on February 13th (register here).

Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake is also hosting two interfaith advocacy events, a Legislative Briefing with Interfaith Power and Light on February 2nd (register here) and a Lobby Night with Maryland Catholics for Out Common Home on February 17th (register here).

As we head into a year of increased political and environmental change, may we take solace in the knowledge that there are members of our community that care. Let us combat apathy with action. Your actions make a difference, not just for you, but for your loved ones, your community, the Jewish people, and the world as a whole.  

May we have peace on a healthy Earth.

Feel free to reach out to Sam and the BESN at [email protected]. For questions about the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition, reach out to Sam at [email protected] 

A special thank you to Abby Snyder and the Baltimore Jewish Council for providing the information about many of these resources.

*This article was adapted from JMORE Baltimore Jewish Living for Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake.