Baltimore officials are developing plans to distribute 64-gallon trash cans to all city homes as a part of a proposal to reduce garbage pickup to once a week.
The green heavy-duty plastic receptacles would include an attached lid to keep rats out and wheels for easy movement. Each city-owned can would have a bar code, assigning it to a specific address.
The design of the cans enables garbage trucks to lift and empty them automatically, helping the city to "efficiently and effectively provide better services," said Mayor Sheila Dixon.
That will be true, she said, "particularly ... where we are trying to get communities not to put out trash in bags."
Under the new trash plan - which could be in place by July - recycling pickups would increase from twice monthly to once a week in most areas, while the frequency of trash collection would drop from twice weekly to one time a week.
A plan for new cans was outlined yesterday at an investigative hearing called by City Council President Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake, as City Council members questioned officials about claims that the city's rat population could be reduced as garbage collection was decreasing.
Officials presented the cans as a solution, noting that a similar program in Buffalo, N.Y., led to a reduction in the rat population.
Dixon concurred. "We have a problem with rats in the city," said the mayor in a telephone interview after the hearing. The cans will help residents "change bad behaviors," hopefully by reducing the use of plastic bags that are vulnerable to hungry rodents. Officials also plan to increase garbage-related citations.
The program needs City Council approval, and some members have voiced concerns about reducing trash pickup. The administration plans to introduce legislation early next month. If approved, the program would begin in July.
The changes are expected to save the cash-strapped city $5.5 million a year, though the mayor said she would have pushed for the program regardless of the city's fiscal situation.
"This is all part of the overall strategic plan," Dixon said. She has stressed environmental and cleanliness efforts, including reforming the recycling program so that residents no longer had to separate paper, plastic and glass.
She noted that the changes free 22 crews to clean trash-filled alleys - a major problem in parts of the city.
