Baltimore's Leaf Sweeping Season in Full Bloom

Green banner with DPW logo and text "Department of Public Works Press Release"

BALTIMORE, MD (November 7, 2014) — Falling leaves are beautiful, and so are clean streets. Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Rudolph S. Chow, P.E., is reminding Baltimore City residents that they can have both this autumn.

“Our citywide street sweeping program collects hundreds of tons of harmful trash, grit, glass, chemicals and bacteria every month, but we need the help of our citizens to keep leaves from cluttering the curbs and clogging the thousands of storm drain inlets throughout the City,” Director Chow said.

The DPW's annual 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. However, residents are reminded that there will be no trash collection on Tuesday, Nov. 11, as the City observed Veterans Day. The make-up day for that collection will be Saturday, Nov. 15.
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

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

Related Stories

DPW to Start Trash and Recycling Collections at 5:00 a.m. During Summer Months Earlier Start Time Aims to Protect Workers from Extreme Heat –Seasonal Change Begins Tuesday, July 8

To protect sanitation workers from the dangers of extreme summer heat, the Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) will begin trash and recycling collections one hour earlier—starting at 5:00 a.m.—beginning Tuesday, July 8. This seasonal adjustment will run through Tuesday, September 30, 2025.

DPW Offices and Sanitation Yards Closed for Independence Day

Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Khalil Zaied reminds residents that Friday, July 4, 2025, is Independence Day, a City holiday. As a result, all DPW offices and sanitation yards will be CLOSED in observance of the holiday. There will be no trash or recycling collections on Friday, July 4. Collections will resume on the makeup day, Saturday, July 5, 2025. Additionally, there will be no street sweeping due to the holiday closure.

DPW Releases 2024 Water Quality Report

The Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) today announced the release of its 2024 Water Quality Report, providing residents in Baltimore City and Baltimore County with important information about the quality of their drinking water.