Two Baltimore City Council Members are calling for pay increases for the city’s sanitation workers in hopes of restoring weekly recycling pickup for residents, which has been suspended for more than two years since the outbreak of the pandemic. With the pandemic eased, the city now says the staffing shortages amid a competitive labor market have prevented restoring weekly recycling pickup.
Jason Mitchell, the outgoing director for the city’s Department of Public Works, has told the council in the past that starting salaries for sanitation workers have hindered his ability to attract new workers. While recycling service has been cut back, the DPW has maintained weekly regular trash pickup service despite the staffing storages and the constraints of the pandemic.
Councilmembers Zeke Cohen, who represents Southeast Baltimore, and Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer, who represents Northwest Baltimore, have long advocated for improvements in service and morale at DPW. “Weekly trash pickup and recycling is one of the few areas where residents are going to directly interact with Baltimore City government,” Cohen said. “And so to have one of the most basic city services continue to not function on a weekly basis is unacceptable.”