Baltimore to begin biweekly recycling pickup this week, starting with the northern half of the city
Baltimore will begin picking up recycling once every other week starting Tuesday. Only residents in the northern half of the city should put their recyclables on the curb or in the alley on their normal recycling pickup day this week.
The city is scaling back the service because the omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has created major staffing shortages in the Department of Public Works. It is unclear when weekly pickup will resume, but officials said the change is not permanent.
Crews will only pick up recycling in areas to the north of North Avenue this week, and every other week after that.
Biweekly pickup for the southern half of the city will begin with the week of Jan 24.
North Avenue does not extend across the entire width of the city, so the pickup week may be less clear for some residents of East and West Baltimore. Public works officials urged residents to look up their recycling schedule by entering their address on a city website.
Some users reported problems finding their recycling week using the online map on Monday because of heavy traffic to the website, department spokeswoman Yolanda Winkler said.
“We have a lot of people who want to do the right thing,” she said.
Anyone unsure of their recycling week should call 311 or the public works office at 410-396-3310, Winkler said.
