On Tuesday, our City's One PLUS ONE initiative officially began.   Every Baltimore City household now has one collection day for trash and one collection day for recyclables each week.
 
We all benefit from the success of this initiative.  One PLUS ONE eliminates duplicate collection operations and improves routes that have not been adjusted in 40 years.  It streamlines our services so we maximize your tax dollars - saving money, reducing fuel consumption while allowing increased service for street, alley and seasonal cleaning and collections.  All of this means quicker response times to your service requests and ultimately a cleaner City.

As with any change, there will be growing pains so I want to remind us all of what we can do to make this transition as seamless as possible:

• Get enough trash cans with tight-fitting lids to properly store your trash between collection days (this has always been the law in Baltimore)
• Know your collection day
• Set out your recycling at the same place you set out your trash
• Get to know your new collection crew

I would like to extend special thanks to the many leaders in our communities who worked diligently with their neighbors to ensure that they were ready for this change.  As we serve each neighborhood, we can tell where this kind of proactive outreach took place-the difference is cleaner alleys and curbs and many more trash cans than we've seen in the past.
 
A great example of a neighborhood that has had a smooth transition is Union Square. Chris Taylor, David Cochran, and other dedicated members of the Union Square Association sent letters to their community describing the importance of this initiative and  hosted events to distribute free trash cans.  His community recognizes that a cleaner, greener neighborhood builds a stronger community. 
 
We all can take part in the success of this initiative.  As an individual, you can contact 311 if you notice any problem areas in your community.  Don't let alleys and street corners become heavily littered - keep calling those trouble spots in for cleaning.  Let us know if you, or your block, experience service problems.  We need you to be our eyes and ears on the ground.  If you, or your community leadership, want to reach out to your neighbors we can share information and provide materials to make it an easier task.  Finally, let us know your successes too.  We want to recognize our communities that are working hard to make a difference. 
 
To learn more about ONE PLUS ONE and your new trash days visit www.cleanergreenerbaltimore.org.
 

Sincerely,

Sheila Dixon
Mayor, Baltimore