Some people, for example, are placing household waste in public trash cans and there are problems with illegal dumping. "Although most communities are using the new municipal trash cans, we still have some challenges in neighborhoods." "However, we still have a challenge with improper trash disposal,” Jackson-Moore said. In 2015, the city reported 51,284 rat burrows. In addition to reducing the number of citizen complaints, the increased number of inspections has also lead to a reduction in the number of reported rat burrows. As of the end of September 2017, there had been 108,556. They’ve been increasing the number of inspections, too. As of the end of September, when the numbers were reported at WASTECON, there were only 4,034 complaints. In 2016, when the municipal trash cans were rolled out, there were 7,306 complaints. In 2015, Baltimore officials recorded 8,503 citizen complaints related to rats. Since the start of the proactive program, the number of resident complaints has seen a steady decrease. " are not seeing as many rats and they know when we’re going to come." "They know we’re coming," Jackson-Moore said. Those teams go into alleys and, when given permission, into housing units to look for signs of rat infestations, treating as necessary. To deal with the increasing number of complaints, though, DPW decided to switch from a reactive to a proactive approach.ĭPW now sends teams out into neighborhoods, aiming for 30-day cycles. Before then, DPW workers would only deal with rats in response to resident complaints. The problem with rats isn’t new in the city, and officials are working to reduce the number of rats after a shift in policy in 2014. Rats!īaltimore's 650,000 residents are highly outnumbered by the approximate population of 8 million rats, according to Yvonne Moore-Jackson, a division chief for DPW’s Bureau of Solid Waste. Therefore a program that’s able to remove trash from streets and alleys and make it easier for residents to contribute to keeping refuse in the waste stream – with a relatively low price tag that came out Baltimore’s spending plan – can serve as a solid example for other cities looking to improve their residential collections. Solid waste management in Baltimore lays claim to only a small part of DPW’s overall budget. Otherwise, residents are on the hook for paying for repairs. The city bears the cost of replacements in a few situations – like if a cart is stolen or if a collection crew damages a cart. "They didn't want anything in their alleys, so calls started going up."īy June 2016, DPW had delivered most of the approximately 170,000 municipal trash cans, which belong to the city and are equipped with RFID chips. "It created energy and synergy with the residents in those neighborhoods," Simmons said during a panel at WASTECON. It was because residents were now educated about what city expectations were and about how they could report dirty streets. Simmons said it wasn't because there was suddenly more trash being blown around the neighborhoods or because trash wasn't secure in the bins. That doesn’t help us with the rat population or make a cleaner street or alley." And, according to Simmons, people in Baltimore had "a tendency to have plastic bags or throw it out there as it is. Before the pilot, residents were on their own for finding a trash can to stick out on the street or in alleys. This way, the city could test how well the collection trucks work in different areas of the city with different geographic requirements. This was two years after the city installed lifters on its collection trucks, according to Tonya Simmons, a division head at the Baltimore Department of Public Works (DPW) Bureau of Solid Waste.īefore rolling out municipal cans in the entire city, DPW conducted pilots in two neighborhoods - one with narrow streets and alleys and one that was more mixed and included single-family homes. While the city has provided residential pickup of trash for decades, it wasn’t until 2016 that the city provided all residences with municipal trash cans. Municipal trash cansįor decades, Baltimore had a massive problem with its rat population - and with dirty alleyways and streets. And, while some programs have resulted in measurable success, Charm City still has its fair share obstacles to overcome. Trash Wheel has been a high-profile success story, other efforts in Baltimore have gone without much recognition. Baltimore has, as a result, faced plenty of challenges when it comes to dealing with solid waste.
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