Recycling will resume in Baltimore City on a weekly basis, as planned, on Jan. 19. Recycling was suspended at the end of August to allow crews to focus solely on trash collection during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the city resumes collection, routes may take longer to complete during the first week due to expected large amounts of material. Residents are asked to bring as much as they can themselves to recycling centers to help with the initial collection. The Community Collection Centers will be open through Feb. 27 and on a modified schedule two days per week: Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“DPW has taken the operational and personnel steps needed to support the full scale weekly resumption of citywide recycling services,” Mayor Brandon Scott said. “To help fill the ranks of essential workers in the Department of Solid Waste, DPW has partnered with small waste hauling companies and city-based organizations that operate job training programs to help connect hard to employ returning residents with opportunities.”
Currently, there are 220 curbside employees. DPW says it takes 201 people to run the curbside operations.
The city has begun using a new digital system called RUBICONSmartCity routing software, which digitizes trash and collection routes, allowing collection crews to cover routes more effectively, city officials said.
