Trash Pickup

Trash service options go into effect this weekA new trash service -- allowing merchants and residents in historic Ellicott City to get and pay for a reduced number of weekly pickups -- takes effect this week, Howard County officials said.Under a plan drafted by the county and the Ellicott City Restoration Foundation, a nonprofit umbrella group of merchants and preservationists, two levels of trash service are available. Businesses and residents may:Continue trash pickup four times weekly -- Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday -- at the current rate of $500 a year.

This schedule will be in effect in the Baltimore area tomorrow, Memorial Day:Anne Arundel CountyCounty offices, closedCourts, closedLibraries, closedPublic schools, closed( Trash removal, no pickupAnnapolisCity offices, closedCourts, closedParking meters, feedPublic schools, closed( Trash removal, no pickupBaltimoreCity offices, closedCourts, closedLibraries, closedParking meters, feedPublic schools, closedG; Trash removal, no pickup. Next recycle day is Thursday.Baltimore CountyCounty offices, closedCourts, closedLibraries, closedParking meters, freePublic schools, closedTrash removal, no pickup, landfill closed.

This schedule will be in effect in the Baltimore area Monday, Memorial Day:Anne Arundel CountyCounty offices, closedCourts, closedLibraries, closedPublic schools, closedTrash removal, no pickupAnnapolisCity offices, closedCourts, closedParking meters, feedPublic schools, closedTrash removal, no pickupBaltimoreCity offices, closedCourts, closedLibraries, closedParking meters, feedPublic schools, closedTrash removal, no pickup., Next recycle day is Thursday.Baltimore CountyCounty offices, closedCourts, closedLibraries, closedParking meters, freePublic schools, closedTrash removal, no pickup, landfill closed.

This schedule will be in effect in the Baltimore area today, Memorial Day:Anne Arundel CountyCounty offices closedCourts closedLibraries closedPublic schools closedTrash removal no pickupAnnapolisCity offices closedCourts closedParking meters feedPublic schools closedTrash removal no pickupBaltimoreCity offices closedCourts closedLibraries closedParking meters feedPublic schools closedTrash removal no pickup. Next recycle day is Thursday.Baltimore CountyCounty offices closedCourts closedLibraries closedParking meters freePublic schools closedTrash removal no pickup,landfill closed.

This schedule will be in effect in the Baltimore area Monday, Memorial Day:# Anne Arundel CountyCounty offices, closedCourts, closedLibraries, closedPublic schools, closedTrash removal, no pickupAnnapolis City offices, closedCourts, closedParking meters, feedPublic schools, closedTrash removal, no pickupBaltimore City offices, closedCourts, closedLibraries, closedParking meters, feedPublic schools, closedTrash removal, no pickup. Next recycle day is Thursday.#Baltimore CountyCounty offices, closedCourts, closedLibraries, closedParking meters, freePublic schools, closedTrash removal, no pickup, landfill closed.

The Howard County Council is moving to toughen County Executive Charles I. Ecker's proposed trash pickup limit from four to three containers a week per household -- and some council members are vowing to mandate a two-container limit by the summer of next year."

After days of plowing and clearing snow, Howard County road crews were gearing up yesterday to go another round against Old Man Winter of 1996."We'll be ready," said Public Works Director James M. Irvin, noting that his department had 110 pieces of equipment, 150 workers and about 30,000 tons of salt to cope with the 4 to 7 inches of snow predicted by the end of today.Yesterday's preparations came as the county struggled to get essential services such as mail delivery by the Postal Service and trash pickup back to normal this week.

Howard County Executive Charles I. Ecker, who already has proposed annual trash fees and stricter weekly limits on trash pickups, said yesterday that he wants to test an even more stringent "pay-by-the-pound" policy in part of the county.The proposal -- aimed at promoting recycling, which would remain free to residents -- has been tested in a handful of communities nationwide, national trash experts said yesterday.Pay-by-the-pound collection uses the latest technology, such as identification tags affixed to garbage bins that emit a radio frequency.

Howard County Executive Charles I. Ecker -- already proposing annual trash fees and stricter weekly trash pickup limits -- said yesterday that he wants to test an even more stringent "pay-by-the-pound" policy in a part of the county.Aimed at promoting recycling, the program, which would remain free to residents, has been tested in a handful of communities nationwide, national trash experts said yesterday.Pay-by-the-pound collection uses technology such as identification tags affixed to garbage bins that emit a radio frequency.

Charging county residents for trash service by the bag may be trendy and may encourage recycling, but it's a bad idea, said many residents at the first public meeting on the proposal last night.About 70 people attended the meeting at Howard High School in southern Ellicott City, and most of them sharply criticized the "pay-as-you-throw" concept proposed Sept. 1 by the county's Solid Waste Funding Assessment Board.If County Executive Charles I. Ecker and the County Council adopt the board's proposal, Howard would be the first county in the state to charge residents for trash pickup based on how much they throw away.

Although most Baltimoreans have to store their garbage on their own premises for six full days now that the new "one plus one" schedule of weekly trash collection has started, residents in one small part of the city were exempt - leading others to cry foul. Those who live downtown and in Mount Vernon continue to enjoy twice-a-week collection plus the traditional extra perk of twice-a-week recycling. Call it two plus two. The bounty of refuse collection service in that area, well-known to lawmakers and often discussed in City Council meetings, was news to many residents who began closely eyeing the new trash pickup routes for the first time this week as the schedule changes took effect.

If there was confusion, anger or absent-mindedness about Baltimore's new trash collection schedule, it didn't much show on city streets or alleys Monday morning. A few people in Wyman Park, Upper Fells Point and some Northern Parkway neighborhoods put out trash cans and bags, as they had done for years on Mondays, but mostly they didn't - apparently having got word that there was no pickup. Trash is now collected once a week, Tuesday through Friday depending on the address. The city has been calling and mailing notices for weeks about the changes.

Trash is a five-letter word that provokes strong feelings in Baltimore. The city's twice-a-week pickup is about as basic a public service as there is in this town. And a plan by the Dixon administration to reduce twice-weekly trash collection to once a week, plus weekly pickup of recyclables, has some balking. But the proposal shouldn't be looked at as another attempt to erode city services or the city's scrimping to save a buck. It's an attempt to better manage collection, save costly landfill space and boost recycling, from which the city actually earns money.

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's bill to reduce trash pickup to once a week must be cleaned up before it can become law, City Council members and community leaders said at a hearing Tuesday, warning that it could have unintended consequences and prove too restrictive. For example, the bill as written "effectively eliminates" all trash pickup for some renters because their buildings, which could include up to seven townhouses, would be eligible to use only a single 64-gallon trash can, testified Amy Macht, president of Regional Management Inc..

Ah, twice-a-week garbage collection. It was nice while it lasted - 55 years, apparently - but it's time to give up this municipal luxury. It's time to hold our noses and pry this one out of our cold, Hefty Cinch Sak'd fingers. As the city looks to slash spending - Mayor Sheila Dixon on Friday projected a $65 million gap in fiscal 2010 between what the city will take in and what it will spend to provide the current level of services - going from twice- to once-a-week garbage pickup is an idea whose time has come.

This schedule will be in effect today for Good Friday: Anne Arundel County County offices: closed Courts: open Libraries: open Public schools: closed Trash: normal pickup Annapolis City offices: closed Courts: open Parking meters: feed Trash: no trash pickup; recycling collected Baltimore City offices: closed Courts: open Libraries: closed Parking meters: feed Public schools: closed Trash: no pickup; landfills and transfer stations closed...

This schedule will be in effect tomorrow for Good Friday: Anne Arundel County County offices: closed Courts: open Libraries: open Public schools: closed Trash: normal pickup Annapolis City offices: closed Courts: open Parking meters: feed Trash: no trash pickup; recycling collected Baltimore City offices: closed Courts: open Libraries: closed Parking meters: feed Public schools: closed Trash: no pickup; landfills and transfer stations closed...

This schedule will be in effect today for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday: Anne Arundel County County offices: closed Courts: closed Libraries: closed Public schools: closed Trash: normal pickup Annapolis City offices: closed Courts: closed Parking meters: feed Trash: no trash pickup; recycling collected Baltimore City offices: closed Courts: closed Libraries: closed Parking meters: feed Public schools: closed Trash: no trash collection...

This schedule will be in effect tomorrow for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday: Anne Arundel County County offices: closed Courts: closed Libraries: closed Public schools: closed Trash: normal pickup Annapolis City offices: closed Courts: closed Parking meters: feed Trash: no trash pickup; recycling collected Baltimore City City offices: closed Courts: closed Libraries: closed Parking meters: feed Public schools: closed Trash: no trash...

This schedule will be in effect Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday: Anne Arundel County County offices: closed Courts: closed Libraries: closed Public schools: closed Trash: normal pickup Annapolis City offices: closed Courts: closed Parking meters: feed Trash: no trash pickup; recycling collected. Baltimore City offices: closed Courts: closed Libraries: closed Parking meters: feed Public schools: closed Trash: no trash collection or recycling Baltimore County County offices: closed Courts: closed Libraries: closed Parking meters: feed Public schools: closed Trash: normal trash pickup Carroll County County offices: closed Courts: closed Libraries: closed Public schools: closed Senior centers: closed Trash: ask contractor Landfill: open Frederick County County offices: closed Courts: closed Libraries: closed Public schools: closed Trash: ask contractor Harford County County offices: closed Courts: closed Libraries: closed Public schools: closed Trash: ask contractor Howard County County offices: closed Courts: closed Libraries: closed Parking meters: feed Public schools: closed Trash: normal trash pickup Other services, attractions Banks, S&Ls: closed Federal offices: closed Federal courts: closed Post office: closed; special delivery and express mail delivery only State offices: closed MVA offices: closed VEIP stations: closed MTA buses: Regular service MTA commuter buses: Holiday "H" service.