Today, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was joined by City Council President Bernard “Jack” Young and Department of Public Works Director Alfred H. Foxx for the re-opening of the Northwest Sanitation Yard. The new “Super Citizen Convenience Center” includes easier access for residents to dispose of trash and recycling, and will be the future home of a permanent hazardous waste collection container.

Previously, residents had to drive up to a roll-off container and dispose of trash or recycling at the open gate of the roll-off or toss it over the side. The new drop-off features a raised, permanent platform allowing citizens to drive up and easily drop their waste into appropriate containers positioned around the outer edge of the platform—six for trash and two for recycling.

“It is important that we are always looking for creative and innovative ideas that will make the services we provide more convenient for residents,” said Mayor Rawlings-Blake. “We need to constantly evaluate ourselves so we can improve City services and grow our city.”

The site will also feature a container for a permanent household hazardous waste drop off program, planned to open for collections at the end of the month. Residents will be able to bring household hazardous waste to the super center on the last Friday and Saturday of each month, starting October 2011. The program will run annually, April through November. This new monthly collection schedule will allow citizens to properly dispose of hazardous household materials more conveniently, without needing to wait for special scheduled collection events.

Additionally, the super center will be the new home for the Bureau of Solid Waste’s entire Mechanical Street Sweeping Operation, including 10 new street sweepers, which were featured at the grand opening. Mechanical street sweeping is a critical tool in the City’s efforts to improve the cleanliness and health of our waterways. This centralized location will let sweepers get to assigned routes more quickly, saving time and fuel and improving overall efficiency.