The Baltimore County Office of Inspector General unearthed a stinky situation in its latest report. An independent trash hauler stands accused of blending 2,247.37 tons of its collected commercial trash with residential waste, over a span of five years.

Inspector General Kelly Madigan said she didn’t have to dumpster dive to catch them in the act. The unnamed trash hauler has a contract with the county for residential waste collection — and contracts with businesses to pick up their trash.

Baltimore County charges $100 per ton for commercial waste — so by mixing up the trash, the hauler was paying less in fees. Commingling ultimately cost the county about $224,737, wasting taxpayer dollars.

“It's kind of a classic investigation of finding somebody that wasn't following the rules,” said Madigan. “And so, that's important, not only to expose that the rules weren't being followed. But also to highlight the good trash haulers and vendors that do follow the rules, and pay the fine, when others don’t.”

Following the investigation, county officials have responded with measures to prevent future abuses. Newly sworn-in county administrative officer, and former head of the Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT), D’Andrea Walker, outlined immediate actions.

“As a result of this investigation DPWT will be collecting on the full damages outlined in this report ($224,737) in addition to $4,000 in tier fines,” wrote Walker. “DPWT will be terminating our agreement with this contractor as soon as possible.” She added that the county will consider deploying cameras and tracking systems for tighter oversight. In October 2023, the county began random spot-checks on trash loads.

If you have something to report, you can call the OIG office at (410) 887-6500.