Baltimore will resume the majority of the city’s trash and recycling services on Monday, city officials announced Friday following several weeks of sporadic service due to employees sickened by COVID-19.
Services resuming Monday include recycling and trash collection, alley cleaning, mowing and rat abatement, city officials announced. Graffiti removal, bulk trash pickup and citywide street sweeping remain suspended. Residents should place their trash and recyclables on their curbs on their regularly scheduled days.
Baltimore halted curbside recycling pickup for three weeks this month, after numerous city sanitation employees tested positive for coronavirus. The Eastern Sanitation Yard, where seven of the 15 employees who tested positive for the virus worked, was closed so employees could stay home and self-isolate. A total of 135 employees were self-quarantined following the outbreak.
The city’s remaining sanitation employees were moved to different routes to accommodate the city’s trash. However some trash routes were missed. More than 600 service requests remained open as of midweek as other employees — including some from other city departments — filled in on unfamiliar routes.
About 100 sanitation employees returned to work Wednesday, providing some relief to city neighborhoods.
Trash and recycling collection will continue on schedule on July 3 even though city offices will be closed for the Fourth of July holiday. Northwest Citizens’ Convenience Center, the Northwest Transfer Station and the Quarantine Road Landfill will be open on July 3 and closed on July 4.
The residential drop-off centers at Reedbird and Bowleys Lane will remain closed due to the pandemic.
Staff writer Colin Campbell contributed to this report.
