A coronavirus outbreak among staff at the city’s east side solid waste yard will cause Baltimore recycling services to be suspended for three weeks, the public works acting director told the City Council late Tuesday. Matthew Garbark, acting director of the Department of Public Works, said effective Wednesday all operations from the east side solid waste yard will be suspended so employees can stay home and self-isolate. Fifteen sanitation workers have tested positive for the virus, including seven at the east side location. Twenty will be isolating at home.
To divert crews to handle essential sanitation duties, Garbark told the council, recycling collection will be suspended across the city for three weeks. In a news release later Tuesday night, he said the suspension is effective immediately. Trash collection is expected to continue uninterrupted, although John Chalmers, head of the city’s Bureau of Solid Waste, said residents may see some delays to their usual pickup schedules. “We ask you to be patient,” Chalmers told the council, explaining that the crews may be working in areas or jobs they are unfamiliar with. “We have to take these measures. The human capital that we have, those employees are near and dear to us.” Chalmers said the bureau has “an abundance of” personal protective gear. Qualifying employees are receiving hazard pay, he said.