Baltimore to resume curbside recycling services

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has announced that curbside recycling collection will return to the city of Baltimore Jan. 19, 2021. The Baltimore Department of Public Works (DPW) suspended the city’s curbside residential recycling collections Aug. 31.

Earlier this year, the Baltimore DPW had reported that the city was facing delays in collecting trash and recycling due to COVID-19, weather conditions, an increase in the amount of waste that DPW’s Bureau of Solid Waste crews had been collecting and shortage of staff reporting to work each day. The DPW said only 163 of its required 230 staff members reported to work Aug. 14 and that some of those workers were out due to COVID-19 or due to being in quarantine.

Until curbside recycling resumes in January, DPW says it plans to continue to operate recycling collection drop-off centers in each of the city’s 14 districts.

“We have to restart curbside recycling collections, a basic core function of city government, and we must get it right,” Scott says. “I thank our residents for their patience during this unprecedented time. Please expect to hear more from the Department of Public Works about a plan for the resumption of recycling services in the coming weeks.”