The Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) is ready to celebrate Mother Earth! During Earth Week, DPW will host a “Recycling Trifecta” (Saturday, April 21) and Clean Your Files Day (Monday, April 23) and cap off the week with the Mayor’s Spring Cleanup (Saturday, April 28).

To date, nearly 200 communities have registered their cleanup activities for the Mayor’s Spring Cleanup, which will take place in neighborhoods from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Communities have until April 23 to call 311 and register for the Spring Cleanup. Registered participants can start picking up trash bags on Wednesday, April 18. Bags can be collected at 2840 Sisson St. or 111 Kane St. Please be sure to have your Service Request number available when picking up bags.

Residents participating in the Mayor’s Spring Cleanup can earn credits toward their stormwater fee. Representatives from registered communities can pick up forms needed to apply for the stormwater credit when they come to collect bags for their cleanups.

Mayor Catherine E. Pugh will launch the City’s 19th annual Spring Cleanup with a kick-off event in the Penn North Community.

Recycling Trifecta

DPW will start its Earth Week Celebration on Saturday, April 21, with a “Recycling Trifecta” from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Morgan State University’s Fine Arts Building parking lot (2201 Argonne Drive).
First, DPW is taking back plastic bags in order to help prevent litter and keep bags out of the waste stream. Residents who bring in five or more plastic grocery bags will receive a free reusable grocery bag (limit one reusable bag per resident). Plastic bags are NOT collected with residential mixed recycling because they jam the machinery at the recycling center.

In addition, DPW will offer free paper shredding for city residents. Residents can bring up to two garbage bags of documents to be shredded. Once shredded, the documents will be taken directly to a recycling facility. This is an opportunity for Baltimore City residents to safely dispose of sensitive paper documents quickly, easily, and securely. Cancelled checks, medical records, credit card information, utility bills, old tax returns, and pay stubs are among the many items that should be destroyed by shredding. Bags that contain other trash will not be accepted.
Those interested can bring up to two 32-gallon bags of papers, and must bring a license or other proof of Baltimore City residency.

Finally, the bright, canary yellow recycling bins will be on sale at deeply discounted rates. Baltimore residents can purchase the 25-gallon bins for $7 (regularly $12) and the smaller 18-gallon bins are on sale for $4 (regularly $5).
As a reminder, residents do not need City-issued recycling bins to recycle. Paper bags, cardboard or plastic boxes and trash cans, labeled “recycling,” are all acceptable containers. Please do not use plastic bags for recycling.

Clean Your Files Day

All Baltimore City agencies, businesses, and nonprofits are invited to participate in Clean Your Files Day, on Monday, April 23.
Participants can rid their offices of paper files, reports, spreadsheets, flyers and booklets and other paper material.

Businesses and residents are encouraged to make everyday Earth Day by recycling more. They can use any container they like except plastic bags, which jam our vendor’s recycling equipment. Please recycle plastic bags at grocery stores and supermarkets, or turn them in at DPW’s plastic bag take-back event on April 21.

To participate in Clean Your Files Day, call DPW’s Office of Recycling at 410-396-4511.The deadline for registering is Thursday, April 19.