My name is Mary Randall, and I’ve lived in Baltimore City my entire life. I love my city. It’s a place of resilience, community, and beauty. But, if you live here, you also know how often we’re asked to carry burdens that others don’t. For years, trash incineration has been one of those burdens.

For years, those of us living near the incinerators were told that this was a necessary part of managing waste and creating energy. But that’s not the full story. Trash incineration creates more pollution than coal plants. It’s not clean, and it’s certainly not renewable. Yet it received subsidies meant for actual renewable energy sources like wind and solar. Worse, this pollution disproportionately impacted neighborhoods like mine, where working-class Black and brown families are more likely to live. It felt like we were being sacrificed for the sake of profits.

Many people I know suffer from asthma and cancer, including myself, having been diagnosed with cancer due to the carcinogenic particulate matter in the air. I even learned that Baltimore has some of the highest asthma rates in Maryland, largely because of pollution from places like the trash incinerators.

That’s why I got involved because I couldn’t just sit back and let this keep happening. Over the past two years, I’ve submitted testimony for this legislation, spoken at rallies and press conferences, and shared my personal story with lawmakers and the public about how this pollution has affected me and my community. I’ve helped mobilize neighbors, passed out petitions, and spent hours in Annapolis meeting with legislators and preparing for hearings. I even wrote op-eds to call attention to the injustice. This fight wasn’t just about policy, it was personal. And every time I stood at that podium or knocked on someone’s door, I did it with my city in mind, with the hope that we could win something better for ourselves and for future generations.

This is why I’m so overjoyed to share this victory with you. Maryland has officially removed trash incineration from its Tier 1 renewable energy portfolio. What does that mean in plain terms? It means trash burning can no longer masquerade as “renewable energy” to secure subsidies. It’s no longer getting financial support that it doesn’t deserve. This decision is a big deal, not just for places like Baltimore but for all of us who have been pushing for fairer environmental policies.

This victory didn’t happen by chance. It happened because people spoke up. We knocked on doors, testified in hearings, wrote emails, and never stopped pushing for what was right. Advocacy groups like Progressive Maryland supported us and gave us a platform, but the heart of this effort came from the community. People like me, fighting for our families, our futures.

I can’t lie; there were plenty of moments when it felt like nothing would change. The incinerator companies have money. They have lobbyists. Sometimes, it felt like they had all the power. But every time we showed up to speak, every time we marched, every petition we signed reminded me that we have something stronger—we have each other.

This step is just the start of what I hope will be a bigger shift. Now that the subsidies are gone, we need to make sure we’re moving toward real renewable energy, like community solar projects and wind power. We need to push for accountability for polluters and continue fighting environmental racism. We’ve won a battle, but not the whole war.

I’m celebrating today because this victory means hope, health, and justice for Baltimore. It means fewer kids struggling to breathe. It means a fairer chance for neighborhoods like mine to thrive. It reminds me of what we can achieve when we come together and believe in something better.

If you’re reading this and wondering how you can help, I encourage you to join Progressive Maryland. Together, we can make sure that this is only the beginning of a brighter, cleaner future for Baltimore and beyond.

Here’s to the power of community and the shared breath of hope we’ve fought for. We deserve it.