Probably because DPW is a shit show right now. And recycling hasn’t been picked up, so it gets blown around

I have watched people give absolutely zero fucks and throw trash any and everywhere. Unfortunately the culture doesn't seem to care too much about it. Look at the overflowing garbage bins and trash in the streets, not even the city cares. Check out the 311 app, its basically an app for the city. You can submit requests for just about anything including trash related issues.

> Do people just say fuck it and chuck whatever is in their hand in the nearest bush??

No! That would require walking to the nearest bush. The only prerequisite for ridding oneself of trash is the presence of gravity.

It's a thing that goes back years. My old ad agency actually did anti-littering commercials for the city back in the 90's. Clearly our persuasive powers were limited. Or those doing it are shitty citizens.

Do people just say fuck it and chuck whatever is in their hand in the nearest bush??

they drop it right where they're standing, the wind blows it into the bush.

every time someone complains about the trash somebody pipes up with this recycling bullshit. do people think the city started being covered in trash 25 years ago.

One might even say, shitizens.

Yeah, was a bit of a shock when I moved here too. Have you heard about Mr. Trashwheel? Folks here are like "LOL our waterways are so choked with litter let's just put a cute anthropomorphized water wheel here instead of... I don't know.... say, not littering".

The DPW slander in Baltimore is overblown. I’ve never seen workers slacking on their job or half stepping.

Lotta factors in this IMO.

1. I really think folks really don’t know how to tie up their trash bags when they throw them out.

2. This city is a wind tunnel with tiny alleys that don’t permit trucks to drive through, resulting in workers having to physically remove bags more often than rather loading them on trucks.

3. Rats chewing through cans and bags, will just leave a mess for when the cans are eventually knocked over by the wind.

4. Severe lack of trash cans on city streets. Not enough workers to maintain the fans that do exist. Community associations in a few neighborhoods actually help out with this.

5. Street sweeping suffers if folks don’t adhere to moving their cars.

We all got issued larger recycling cans and I really feel like that you can’t recycle bi-weekly then you should take a look at your own consumption.

Or at least take some time to breakdown the boxes that you put in the can to make for more space. In my own ally I see people stuff their fans with things they think can be recycled.. and it’s like throwing a wish up to the gods for credit that “I’m doing my part.”

I think most of us are not recycling properly. DPW does not accept glass, paper with food residues, or low graded plastic. DPW SHOULD however do a better job of educating the public on what and how they do things.

Trash and recycling is all out of sight/ out of mind but if we are truly invested in this we would understand that this part of the state, and the country in general has a huge trash problem based on overconsumption and not holding companies responsible for over packaging their products.

And I'm going to be stealing this wonderful description.

Thank you for your 2 cents

My friends from Raleigh came up to visit once. My buddy literally said "So, do you guys just not have trash cans here?"

Baltimore's level of litter is straight up embarrassing and it speaks heavily towards the kind of people who live in this city.

besides that people just throw their trash on the ground and it has nothing to do with recyling.

> it speaks heavily towards the kind of people who live in this city.

There's a lot of really good people in this city. And a lot of shitty ones. I had the same experience with a west coast city. It gets talked about like its nice but you get there and are greeted with a straight up piss smell that takes up whole blocks. Baltimore is like every other city - some good things, some bad things. Some bad people, some good people. There are horrible things that happen in other cities that never happen here, and the reverse. That said, fuck people who litter.

It’s mostly that people are filthy and will liter like it’s 1963. The worst is when I see people toss trash out of their car windows. My house is on a corner and I have to pick up trash out of my yard on a weekly basis.

I've seen people just toss trash right out their window while driving....

It's been an issue for as long as I've been alive, and all over the place, not just in the city. I can remember seeing "no littering" signs in Harford County in the 80s.

You don’t want to visit Seattle because moving here I was shocked how clean downtown is, but than Seattle is awful!!

Buy a trash grabber and pick it up. People will see that and perhaps help. I’ve been doing it around my house and it feels good to clean this shit up

Never been to Seattle but I went to Portland last year. I was super excited to go cause all I ever hear about is how hip and cool the place is. Arrive there and it's an absolute shit hole. Tent cities everywhere, trash, filth, etc. I looked at my wife and was like "Well, at least Baltimore isn't the worst place to live in America."

Baltimore is probably the filthiest city in the US. Some of the city parks have more trash and filth than the downtown area.

Where are you downtown that there are bushes? Most people just throw their shit out on the street. While yes there's definitely a behavior problem, I also get peeved at the number of property owners that can't be bothered to go out and pick up the trash that blows/is thrown on their properties- is it fun picking up someone elses trash, no, but hey at least do your part. I've also organized neighborhood trash pickup events, and sometimes I'll take a trash bag on my walk and pick up until it's full (usually not too far!)

Yup, this is what I do. Few times a week I’ll go out with a bag on my block and fill it up. It makes me feel better until one of the delightful people who park on my block decide that the best way to dispose of their fast food bag is to simply park, open door, and deposit into the street! Surely Chick-FIL-A cups are biodegradable! /s

This is core of the problem and it stems from culture, poverty and the absence of government and community

Yes!! The PNW is beautiful but the people and cities are gross.

i've been picking up trash around my neighborhood for more than 10 years. it makes no impact whatsoever beyond those specific pieces of trash going to the incinerator rather than the bay.

I just don’t understand how people haven’t figured out that recycling only gets picked up every other week. It’s been almost two years of this. Or maybe they don’t care and just put their recycling out every week anyway.

I recently came back from OKC, and was very surprised by how beautiful/safe downtown is.

It’s just boils down to the mentality of the people.

I’ve seen the same! Around Mount Vernon. I really wanted to get out the car and confront the individual, but was too afraid to get shot.

I’m a big believer, if the area is clean, It will definitely bring positive vibes… I really wish city leaders would understand that… but they don’t

It truly is embarrassing. If I were mayor, I would focus on cleaning this shit up. It would boost the morale of the people of this city, tourists, businesses, events, would want to come to the city. But hey, what do I know?

I have zero problems calling out institutional dysfunction. But this has zero to do with DPW. I don't understand how a whole city develops this kind of mindset.

I've told this before. A guy was sitting on the rim of a city owned trash receptacle eating chicken from a box. When he was finished the box went right on the ground. He was too common to drop it in the can.

Maybe you inspired someone driving by? How could you ever know?

This city is low on empathy, altruism, and any sense of community or civic pride. Things like littering, double parking, and going through red lights are simple indications of the plague of “not giving a fuck” that has completely taken over.

People don't give a fuck about anyone else and they don't give a fuck about making it better. Welcome to Baltimore.

Littering in Harford County and Baltimore City are not the same. It's prolific in the city. Compare the sides of the road when driving on 24 in Harford County vs driving on Perring Parkway, for instance. Similar roadways with similar widths and speeds.

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Why do you think the head of the Public Waste just resigned? They do not have enough resources, either physical or human.

It's just a problem here. Smh

Puhlease. Tell me out haven’t traveled without telling me you haven’t traveled. Filthidelphia is worse

It has a big part to do with it.

Yea - it’s about the same on every street in a city these days. I try going out to clean my park and neighborhood at least once a month.

Edit - I’m also shocked by the lack of trash cans available

Did you think downtown baltimore was gonna be a field of flowers?

Same G! It’s good for mama earth, nice to go out for a walk and hopefully you’ll inspire some others.

I was at a traffic light on Fairmount years ago and dude in front of me opened his car door and put his empty Popeyes box on the ground. Shut his door and drive off.

I used to do this around my row home. The kids next door were one the worst about throwing stuff on the ground. I was out there doing my trash collecting one day and the youngest kid asks if she can use my trash grabber. She enjoyed picking up the trash for a bit and then went inside her house. Thought maybe that would make an impression.

Next day saw her throwing her trash on the sidewalk...

You answered your own question at the end, but yes I have seen people dump an armful of trash within 5 feet of an empty trash can right next to the courthouse. It’s so common it’s in the fiction about the city. What it boils down to is Baltimore’s citizens just do not care at all about their city, or at least not in numbers significant enough to make a difference.

Respectfully disagree. This problem goes way back, way before current times. But have an upvote.

The good with the bad. I have noticed, with the large green city issued trash cans, that people leave them out 24/7. My neighbor seems to have a never ending over flowing trash can. In the early 2000s, the city would slap a fine on people who left their cans out when it was not the appointed day. Now the city does nothing.

Next there seems to be no control over apartments and schools. Drive down Ploy street in the early hours and it looks like a farmer is running his herd of rats to market. The several apartments and the School For the arts. have small dumpsters, that are nearly always over flowing.

To add a little salt in the wound. All property owners. in Mt Vernon, have to pay a special district tax. This was started about 25 yrs ago, and back then there were a number of extra services which the property owner got. Such as- weekly sidewalk sweeping, in coordination with a vacuum jitney which would vacuum the streets and the sidewalk litter. Unarmed guards, patrolling the streets. Large planters, and several other items. These services were performed by Midtown and Downtown Partnership. Since the 2008 recession most of the services stopped. In recent years only the vacuum buggy is seen on rare occasions and a handful of planters are dropped off mid spring to fend for themselves. In the early days it all worked well, now its just theft by the city on property owners.

Yep. When I was working near JHMI I remember a woman exit the 7-Eleven, take a single sip of her coffee, shout "this coffee fuckin sucks", and then proceed to throw the entire cup onto the sidewalk. Coffee everywhere and the cup/lid flew into the road.

I actually laughed out loud when I witnessed that. Totally unexpected lol. But still pretty sad.

It’s because very few city residents actually live down town

I live near a high school so a lot of students walk through the area. One day I was looking out the window and I saw one finish what he was drinking and throw the cup over his shoulder right in the middle of the alley. I was raised to never litter. I don't understand why people think others should have to clean up after them.

It’s called CharmCity trash

Cause people don’t know how to throw shit in a trash can.

Well in the age of Amazon if you miss one you’re fucked

So yes it goes out every week out of paranoia. But it’s in a lid can so I don’t think it’s blowing away

I just put a recurring reminder on my calendar for the night before recycling day. Some people near me are still using the small bins with no cover and that often doesn’t end well

I once threw trash back in a car while I was riding my bike. It didn't go well, I expected them to thank me for enlightening then of the error of their ways instead they called me a motherfucker and threw the trash back out. I was flummoxed.

Maybe the mayor could pay people to pick up and turn on trash? Like you get 5.99 per pound of mixed trash…. (Arbitrary)… in this way squeegee kids or anyone can profit by servicing the city.

and you inspire all of us!

I grew up poor AND my family taught me values and respect. I have never thrown shit on the ground.

London, Dublin, Madison, Wisconsin, Phoenix, Tucson, Albuquerque, Philadelphia, Newark NJ, Atlanta, Memphis— off the top of my head the last few cities I have traveled to that were MUCH cleaner than Baltimore. And yes, Philly IS cleaner. Baltimore is the filthiest city I have ever lived in (and I have lived in a few mid sized cities). With the exception of LA it’s the dirtiest city I have ever been to.

Lol at a red light on North Ave I was jumped out of my car to toss back the BAG of trash a guy threw out of his window onto the street. Immediately self evaluating— “well that was fucking stupid “.

Try finding a garbage can. You need to walk for blocks. There should be at least a few on every block downtown.

https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/politics-power/local-government/new-15m-clean-corps-to-take-on-baltimores-stubborn-trash-problems-TVTBL6BEY5BZJPVZFGRHO6C25A/

This is a good idea.

My dad is in San Francisco for work right now and he says he can't leave his hotel and there are armed guards at the door. Also, his coworkers saw some men beat some random person up on the sidewalk -- sounds awful.

Litter is a huge problem in the city. Unfortunately environmental stewardship must be taught, and it just isn’t.

I visited Portland this spring and was pretty shocked too. Just covered in garbage. Yet somehow it's so damn expensive and has this positive reputation? For all its faults, at least Baltimore is cheap lol

Lived in Brooklyn NY for 5 years. Like 10x filthier than Baltimore, not even close. In NYC, garbage is left out on the curb since they have no alleys, so there's just garbage and rats like 2 days a week. Not saying Baltimore is immaculate but this whole thread is just so far removed from reality lol.

Bmore seriously cannot be the filthest city in the US.

If people got paid to turn in trash theft would be out of control.

Yes and the DPW has been an issue

Philly is filthy

Same, but also I saw the large recycling bins distributed on my block, only to be filled with garbage. Education would go a long way, but I suppose this is true for more than just this issue.

Have you been to Philly? Filthy.

Windy days in the city can be like that. Thanks for pitching in to help clean up.

When I lived in Baltimore I saw someone purposefully throw trash past a trash can at the Mount Vernon light rail station.

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As a poc who recently moved to this city, makes me sad for this city. Thinking about moving out.

It’s known as job control. Don’t pick it up and throw it away, you may get in trouble for taking peoples’ jobs. Also an attempt to keep/make property taxes and tourism rates low.

It should be common sense. Don’t litter! Why is it hard for people from this city to understand?

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I haven't been to HarCo for any length of time in about 20 years, just sharing a fact that it's always been a problem.

It’s a 50/50 half of this is on people just not caring about their own community,and the other half is due to a failing DPW department that has not taken care of this issue!

Thank you for this. Just wanted to add for folks reading this that glass IS an acceptable item for curbside recycling.

Same people are littering outside the city too. Now to all of that trash on the city streets add weed smell and crack heads. Is the trash the only problem here?

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Yep, unfortunately lot of folks here do not care about littering. I've been walking down Charles Street in Fed Hill and seen people just chuck their whole McDonalds meal litter out the window right in front of me, or be walking on the sidewalk with a beverage and just drop the container and keep walking. I don't get it.

I don't think it was always this way. I remember visiting Baltimore as a kid in the early 2000s and being surprised by how clean Downtown was. Maybe 6 or so years ago, there was an article written for the in-flight magazine for Southwest Airlines about Baltimore and the author raved about how clean the city was. People obviously don't even consider negative consequences for littering to even be a possibility. Baltimore just generally does a terrible job of incentivizing pro-social behavior.

It is called the economics of public goods. Public space for most people is not seen as personal space. Therefore, they can abuse public space without feeling like they are devaluing something that they own.

I see the same thing in my personal neighborhood and am always picking up after others. It is aggravating!

Please listen to this instinct. I made the mistake of making eye contact with a man who threw a can out of his car only to be threatened by him and his three friends a few minutes later. Adding to this someone was violently murdered in Mt. Vernon last night, please be careful.

I heard about this too! that’s a shame! Mount Vernon is so beautiful! Moving out of this city is starting to move up on my list.

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people here are gross. I had never seen someone roll down the window on their car to just casually toss out trash before but have seen it MANY times here. It's so disrespectful to their neighbors and city.