Mayor Brandon Scott announced this week that he has accepted the recommendations of the Sisson Street Task Force, a citizen’s panel that he formed in September of 2025 to help the city determine the fate of the Sisson Street Residential Recycling Center at 2840 Sisson Street in Remington.
Scott formed the task force to evaluate plans for relocating the popular bulk trash drop-off facility, also known as the Sanitation Yard and Citizen Drop-Off Center, to private property at 2801 Falls Road, in the Jones Falls watershed.
He asked the panel members to look at the feasibility of closing the recycling center, keeping it open, or relocating it so the property can be sold for private development, after the city received an offer. He specifically wanted the task force to recommend the best way for the city to handle bulk trash and hazardous waste disposal if the city closed the Sisson Street facility. City Council member Odette Ramos served as its chair.
In April of 2026, the Task Force released its final report. Its recommendation was that the recycling center be closed after seven conditions are met. In effect, its report charted a path that the city could follow to free up the property for development, but only after the seven conditions are met, and acknowledging that that will take some time.
The seven conditions are that:
- The city’s Reedbird bulk trash in south Baltimore becomes fully operational, which will take three to four years, and the city’s Bowley’s Lane facility remains open during its renovation.
- The Department of General Service’s York Road site begins to accept some recycling, with the Charles Village Benefits District and the Midtown Benefits District getting a dumpster there.
- Collection of household hazardous waste is relocated to the Bowley’s Lane facility in 2027.
- The Sisson Street Residential Recycling Center’s zero-waste plan responsibilities are shifted to other sites.
- The Department of Public Works and residents collaborate to co-create a robust education initiative focused on recycling habits and anti-litter messaging.
- Before full closure of the Sisson Street Residential Recycling Center, the Department of Public Works will conduct short-term closures to assess the impact of closure and whether problems occur. Potential problems that might occur and then must be addressed are illegal dumping and challenges to the routes for waste management trucks.
- The future use of the current site is planned with community and public input.
Next steps, panel members said, include making progress towards achieving the goal of reducing reliance on the Sisson Street site; developing the education initiative and bringing the Bowley’s Lane and Reedbird sites into full operation status.
Oversight will occur through the City Council’s Public Health and Environment Committee, chaired by Councilmember Phylicia Porter. There is also a need to begin the process of reimagining what the current site could be once the conditions are met and the site is ready for closure, panel members said.
“I want to thank the entire Sisson Street Task Force for taking on this important responsibility,” Scott said in a statement. “Input from residents and community leaders is a critical part of our decision-making process, and we want to make sure that the recommendations included in this report are reflected moving forward. I’m confident that working together, we can ensure that the future of this site meets the needs of our recycling and waste management ecosystem, our workforce and the community.”
