We shut down one incinerator today. Can we close a second one?
Last night, the Baltimore Brew broke the news first.
Curtis Bay Energy, the medical waste incinerator in South Baltimore, best known for pleading guilty in 2023 to 40 counts of criminal violations including illegal emissions and mishandling of medical waste, is being forced to close.
MDE has terminated Curtis Bay Energy’s permits, and they are required to stop incineration within 90 days.
This happened because WE THE COMMUNITY became watchdogs when the government wouldn’t. We monitored and documented the incinerator’s violations, even when MDE didn’t believe us, because we knew what was happening in our South Baltimore communities. Through our community-led research efforts, we forced the state to take action back in 2023, we pushed institutions like Hopkins to divest from the incinerator in 2024, and now the state has shut Curtis Bay Energy down for good.
Read coverage from the Baltimore Banner.
Tonight’s BRESCO permit hearing matters more than ever.
Shutting down oneincinerator doesn’t address the decades of harm and overburden that has been inflicted upon South Baltimore.
We can’t let the state think that closing Curtis Bay Energy is enough.
It’s not.
As long as BRESCO keeps burning, the toxic ash generated by waste incineration will keep spilling into our neighborhoods, our air, our water, our soil on their way to open-air landfills in our communities.
As long as BRESCO keeps burning, residents of Maryland and DC will continue to pay for it with their health to the tune of $53.8 million per year.
As long as BRESCO keeps burning, the state of Maryland continues to communicate that it’s okay with neighborhoods in South Baltimore being treated as “sacrifice zones.”
This is why we need you to come to the permit hearing tonight at 6PM.
Thursday, October 1, 2026 at 6:00PM
Curtis Bay Recreation Center
1630 Filbert Street, Baltimore, MD 21226
RSVP: bit.ly/brescohearing
If you can’t make it in person, here’s the info for tuning in virtually:
Meeting link: meet.google.com/kmb-hiaf-jqn
Call-in number: +1 (541) 579-2835
PIN: 419 578 626#
And please consider signing and sharing our collective letter (bit.ly/brescoletter).
