It used to take months to get a trash can in Baltimore. Things are changing.

It should be simple enough. Request a trash can, get a trash can.

But nothing is easy in Baltimore.

“Can someone tell me why it takes 1/3 OF A YEAR to get a replacement recycling bin?” one Baltimore resident lamented on Reddit in February.

A chorus of residents responded. Few were surprised.

A Banner analysis confirms what many Baltimoreans already know too well: It can take an outrageous amount of time to get a trash can or recycling bin. At least 2,400 requests for new or replacement bins took the city more than three months to fulfill last year. Over 700 remained open longer than six months.

The kinks in the system are numerous. Necessary forms don’t always arrive; more often they’re not returned. Undersized trucks have slowed deliveries.

Exacerbating the wait last year was a backorder on cans. More than 2,300 requests have been put on a waitlist since the start of 2025. Some on the list waited eight months before a new bin was delivered.

Officials scrambled to sign an emergency contract with a manufacturer to tackle the waitlist as community groups buzzed about an emerging black market. One seller in Southern Maryland posted a listing for stacks and stacks of shabby green 65-gallon wheeled cans marked “Property of Baltimore City.” The price was $40 each.

This year has brought improvement, although the bar was decidedly low. From January to June, Baltimore typically took about two weeks to close 311 requests for new cans. One in five still took longer than 30 days.

In a city that has struggled with systemic issues like violent crime and a crippling number of vacant homes, trash can delivery might feel like the least of its problems. But for the residents simply trying to keep their trash off the street and the City Council members working to help them, it’s no small obstacle.

Council member Phylicia Porter, whose South Baltimore district requested almost 1,800 trash cans over the last 18 months, said residents understand it will take time to solve the big issues.

“We’re not losing people on the big stuff. We’re losing people and faith in the city on the small stuff like trash not getting picked up,” she said.

‘Dude, it’s a trash can’

Markia Brown was born and raised in Baltimore. She knew to be patient when she requested a set of trash and recycling bins for her new Upton home last year. She didn’t foresee an 11-month fight.

Because Brown was requesting cans for a new home, she had to fill out a form proving she was the owner. When she first requested the cans in September 2025, Brown said the city never emailed her the form. The form arrived after a follow-up call to 311. But then Brown discovered it couldn’t be filled out electronically. Refusing to quit, she dusted off an old printer, printed out a copy and penned her answers. She scanned it with her phone and sent it back.

City records say they never received the form.

That same scenario would play out repeatedly. Brown made more calls to 311 and spoke to supervisors. She returned more forms. Records show four requests from Brown’s address were closed because the forms had not been returned.

“Dude, it’s a trash can,” Brown said. “Do you want rats outside? Just give me a trash can.”

By July, Brown was still waiting. A flimsy substitute can she bought at the hardware store broke during collection. Flies invaded every time she opened her front door. Brown called 311 and was told there was no open ticket in her name. Angry, she filled out another.

This time, the city promised to deliver on Aug. 10, Brown said. The can arrived Aug. 12 — almost 11 months after the first request.

“I got on Threads and when it came, somebody was like ‘At least it wasn’t a year!’” Brown said. “Yeah, a couple weeks short.”

City data shows that missing forms are among the most common reasons requests for new trash cans are halted. Of the roughly 46,000 requests made since the start of last year, more than 16,000 stalled because residents didn’t file required forms. More requests ended over paperwork problems than resulted in the delivery of a new can.

Council members also pointed to the form as a problem. Mark Parker, whose Southeast Baltimore district had the second-highest request volume in the city for 2025 and 2026, said there’s a disconnect because the form is sent via email, but the city doesn’t require an email address to file a 311 request.

Trash can requests are also different from most 311 requests because they require residents to follow up, Parker said.

Porter, who said trash can theft is prevalent in her district, has pleaded with city officials to accept the form electronically.

“The process to get a trash can is really not conducive to the residents,” she said.

Kofi Heard, a Remington resident who lost his trash cans when they melted in a fire, gave up on his request for a new can after the city rejected his form. Heard submitted a copy of his lease with the form as requested, but city officials told him the lease was from the previous year and therefore invalid.

“I like the initiative of giving everyone a recycling bin, and I understand they cost money,” he said. “But when you ask for one, either provide it or not.”

The verge of a solution

Baltimore officials acknowledge there’s a problem. Fixing it has fallen to Kendall Abu-Hakim.

In June 2025, the City Hall veteran was assigned to lead the struggling Bureau of Solid Waste. A top priority was improving workplace conditions following several heat-related employee deaths. But Abu-Hakim also made time for trash cans. The issue was “low-hanging fruit” compared to some of the department’s other challenges, he said.

Abu-Hakim started by upgrading the equipment the city was using. Baltimore had been using pickup trucks to haul cans, just eight to 10 at a time. In December, the city upgraded to box trucks that can deliver 30 cans per day.

Officials also tackled the backorder that strangled operations for much of 2025. A $325,000 emergency contract secured 6,000 cans, and a new contract followed. The city now aims to keep at least 1,500 cans on hand. When supply dips, they order more cans, officials told the Board of Estimates in April.

Baltimore also found a solution to the infamous form.

The city built a new function into the 311 system that allows residents to request cans and submit needed documents, like leases, in one step. The update was recently rolled out.

Residents will still have to send in their documentation if they call 311, however.

Why require residents to prove they’re residents at all? It’s a budget issue, Abu-Hakim explained. City trash and recycling cans are frequently stolen, and there isn’t enough money to provide unlimited cans, he said.

The goal, however, is to get the wait time for a new can down to 10 business days.

The Banner’s analysis shows that the city’s efforts so far are bearing some fruit. It’s now rare that residents have to wait months to get a can.

For residents and council members, further improvement can’t come soon enough.

“People want to do the right thing. We just have to make it easier for people to do the right thing,” council member Odette Ramos said. “We just need to give people cans.”