Baltimore’s Northwest Transfer Station will open on April 1, 2017, to small, commercial trash haulers who remove loads of unwanted household goods. This provides another legal option for dumping in addition to the Quarantine Road Landfill in South Baltimore, and is the latest step by Mayor Catherine E. Pugh and the Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) to find ways to help keep Baltimore clean.

Small, commercial haulers provide an important service to residents wanting to clear their houses of unwanted items, including old furniture, appliances, or other items that are too bulky for regular trash disposal or too numerous for the City’s bulk trash service. But haulers have to drive miles out of their way to Quarantine Road, sometimes waiting in long lines, to drop off a load.

Worse, unlicensed haulers have been known to avoid the drive and the modest fee to use the landfill by dumping loads of trash in secluded locations. Illegal dumping isn’t just an eyesore, it damages the environment and harms communities. The opening of the Northwest Transfer Station at 5030 Reisterstown Road – already used by DPW trash trucks to dump loads and return to their routes – is also meant to encourage these small haulers to get a license and become part of the solution to illegal dumping.

“Anytime we can make it easier for people to do the right thing and properly dispose of trash, we take another important step to help keep Baltimore clean,” said Mayor Pugh. “Allowing small haulers to use a more convenient facility will help them do business more efficiently, and make it that much easier for haulers who have operated outside the law to comply with commonsense rules.”

Beginning April 1, haulers will be charged just $20 per load, provided the weight of the fully-loaded vehicle does not exceed 7,000 pounds. They will be charged an additional $3.38 for every 100 pounds over that limit. Hours of operation at the Northwest Transfer Station will be 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

“A year ago we rolled out municipal trash cans, and now we’re preparing to open the Northwest Transfer Center to small haulers,” said DPW Director Rudolph S. Chow, P.E. “We will continue working to make it easier and more convenient for everyone to keep Baltimore clean.”

Baltimore City residents may dump their own trash at any Citizens Convenience Center for free. But those services don’t include disposal of building materials, and are not designed for commercial haulers.

Small haulers who are not already licensed by the City will be given applications to do so. Commercial haulers will need to be licensed in order to use the Northwest Transfer Station and pay the $20 fee. For more information on trash hauler licensing visit health.baltimorecity.gov.