Montgomery County Yard Trim Composting Facility

The Montgomery County Yard Trim Composting Facility (MCYTCF), located in Dickerson, Maryland, has been in operation since 1983. Montgomery County operates the facility through a contract with Maryland Environmental Service (MES). MES is a state agency structured as a nonstock, nonprofit, public purpose corporation established to assist Maryland jurisdictions with environmental operations. The facility produces and sells both bulk and bagged Leafgro®, a high-quality compost used extensively by landscapers and homeowners for soil improvement.

The composting program in Montgomery County, Maryland started in 1983, initially composting only leaves collected by the county’s curbside leaf vacuuming collection program serving about one-third of the county. In 1989, the program expanded to include both leaves and grass collected at all single-family homes. Today, materials are received from the entire county, representing a population of over one million people (including all single-family homes, multi-family dwellings, and business establishments).

The site is located adjacent to the Montgomery County Resource Recovery Facility. It has a throughput capacity of 77,000 tons of material per year. The area of the MCYTCF site is comprised of 118 acres and features

• 49-acre asphalt pad
• 3 stormwater management ponds
• 80,000 square foot pavilion for drying and screening finished compost
• office/scale house
• maintenance building
• storage building
• pump-house for the on-site well