Posted on October 8, 2025
To residents of Dundalk and Sparrows Point, the word “dredging” is a familiar one, but the specifics of the term —how dredged material is handled, where it goes and what dredge can be turned into — are sometimes elusive.
In an effort to teach residents about the practice, the Maryland Port Administration stopped by the North Point Peninsula Council’s monthly meeting at the Edgemere Volunteer Fire Company last Thursday for “Get the Scoop on Dredging,” a hands-on workshop exploring the details of dredging.
“To keep that cargo coming in and out of Baltimore, our shipping channels need regular dredging and managing that dredge material has been MPA’s specialty for over 40 years, so you can kind of say that dredging is our thing,” said Holly Miller, Director of the Maryland Port Administration’s Office of Navigation, Innovation and Stewardship.
After the meeting’s regular business concluded, guests broke off to explore five tables, all of which provided unique information: how to keep in contact with the MPA, a sign-up for a tour of Hart-Miller island, an explainer of dredge methods, a history of the practice and how dredge can be recycled into new matter.
“It’s really community partners like you that help us to stay grounded in what’s the most important, which is Marylanders,” Miller said.
Miller and her colleagues were on-hand, with some stationed at tables and other mingling around the room to provide information about the evening’s workshop.
One of the more bustling stations of the evening was “Waste not; Create a lot: Innovative solutions.” The tactile station allowed guests to touch all of the materials that dredging brings up, from silt to repurposed stone, and see how said materials are being tested to create new matter — namely bricks.
According to Kelvin Moulden, MPA Chief of Innovative Reuse Strategy & Partnerships, the MPA is currently researching multiple avenues for the reuse of dredged materials that will benefit the state’s economy, including turning the materials into crucial construction components like bricks and concrete.
While the reuse project is still in its research stage, Moulden said that the MPA’s findings are promising for the future of dredging.
Anyone looking to contact the MPA for further information can visit their website at mpa.maryland.gov. Those interested in the Hart-Miller island tour can contact Francis Taylor at fralintay@comcast.net.
