BALTIMORE, MD (October 22, 2014) — With the middle of autumn approaching, Baltimore City Department of Public Works Director Rudolph S. Chow, P.E., is urging Baltimore City residents to keep their curbs, alleys, and storm drains clear of leaves to prevent flooding.

“The City of Baltimore has implemented citywide street sweeping, but that is not enough to keep falling leaves from clogging the thousands of storm drain inlets throughout the City,” Director Chow said.

The Director also encouraged residents to participate in the Mayor’s annual Fall Cleanup — a citywide initiative that brings residents together to clean Baltimore’s neighborhoods. The Mayor’s Fall Cleanup will take place on October 25.

The leaf collection program started Monday, October 20, 2014, and will continue through Monday, January 5, 2015. The Department of Public Works Bureau of Solid Waste will collect bagged leaves every Monday throughout the season.
Solid Waste crews will collect up to 20 bags of leaves from each address every Monday.  Residents must call 311 before 10 p.m Sunday to schedule a collection the following Monday. Residents may make multiple appointments for up to two months prior to the pick-up date.

The Bureau of Solid Waste will also continue to collect bagged leaves on the regularly scheduled trash collection day.  Solid Waste crews will collect up to 5 bags of leaves from each address every week.  Residents need to put leaves in clear or labeled bags and place them at their regular mixed refuse collection location and not in the public right-of-way. With Monday collections and regular mixed refuse collections, the Bureau of Solid Waste will collect, in total, up to 25 bags of leaves per week, per residence.

Residents can also drop off bagged leaves at five Bureau of Solid Waste locations:

Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.:
 
Quarantine Road Sanitary Landfill – 6100 Quarantine Road
Western Citizens’ Convenience Center- 701 Reedbird Avenue
Eastern Citizens’ Convenience Center- 6101 Bowleys Lane
Northwest Citizens’ Convenience Center - 2840 Sisson Street
 
Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.:

Northwest Transfer Station – 5030 Reisterstown Road

The Mayor’s October 25 Fall Cleanup is a perfect time for City residents to start to tackle storm-drain clogging leaves. “On Saturday, Oct. 25, I want to see residents come together to clean their neighborhoods. The Fall Cleanup is a great day to rake and bag leaves, sweep alleys and curbs and to identify and report graffiti for removal by DPW crews,” Director Chow said.

For the Mayor’s Fall Cleanup, Baltimore residents are encouraged to pick a location that needs a special cleanup and/or graffiti removal. Residents who participate in registered neighborhood cleanups may apply for credits against their Maryland Stormwater Fee.

For more information about DPW’s services, please consult your Public Works Calendar or go to http://publicworks.baltimorecity.gov.