Baltimore, MD - Oct. 6, 2015 — Autumn has arrived and so have the falling leaves. Today, Baltimore City Department of Public Works Director Rudolph S. Chow, P.E., urged city residents to keep their curbs, alleys, and storm drains clear of leaves to prevent the potential for flooding.

“DPW has implemented citywide street sweeping, and does alley sweeping in several neighborhoods. Still, that is not enough to keep falling leaves from clogging the thousands of storm drain inlets throughout the City, particularly in heavily wooded areas,” Director Chow said.

Leaf collection season begins Monday, October 19, and will continue through Monday, January 4, 2016. The Department of Public Works Bureau of Solid Waste will collect bagged leaves every Monday throughout the season.

Solid Waste crews will collect leaves by appointment; up to 20 bags of leaves will be collected from each address every Monday. However, residents must call 311 before 6 p.m. on Sunday to schedule a collection for the following Monday. Citizens 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. Altogether, with Monday collections and regular mixed refuse collections, the DPW will collect, in total, up to 25 bags of leaves per week, per residence.

As a reminder, residents can also drop off bagged leaves at one of the five Citizen Convenience locations:

Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.:  

Quarantine Road Sanitary Landfill – 6100 Quarantine Road

Western Citizens’ Convenience Center- 701Reedbird 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 Fall Cleanup is on October 24. This will be another opportunity for residents to rid their neighborhoods of leaves and debris. Call 311 to register for the Fall Cleanup. Residents who participate in registered neighborhood cleanups may apply for credits against their Stormwater Fee.