Baltimore shames businesses for illegal dumping violations

Baltimore's "Clean It Up!" Campaign

In January 2020, the Mayor of Baltimore, $ Bernard C. Young$ , announced the citywide launch of the "Clean It Up!" campaign. This campaign consisted of eight data-driven cleaning initiatives and a promise to eliminate Baltimore's entire backlog of 311 cleaning requests by April. According to city data, there were $ approximately$  7,500 overdue cleaning and property maintenance work orders in January. This was already a 56% reduction from the 17,000 overdue orders in September of the previous year, but Mayor Young insisted Baltimore could do better:

$ “This new data-driven initiative will provide direction and accountability for our city’s cleaning efforts. This is a bold and aggressive plan to tackle the city’s grime and trash and it will require community participation. We must work to end the culture of littering and dumping in our beloved city."$ 

In just one $ week$ , the city was able to clear over 1,500 active work orders from its 311 system. To reduce the burden of future requests, Mayor Young declared that his administration would target those who repeatedly illegally dump in the city and enhance cleaning efforts in high traffic areas. As part of this broad campaign, Mayor Young offered transparency to residents regarding its progress on specific cleaning goals with the development of the $ CleanStat$  dashboard.

The CleanStat Dashboard

The CleanStat dashboard was designed to hold Mayor Young accountable for his promises related to the "Clean It Up!" campaign. CleanStat tracks and analyzes data related to the city's progress dealing with trash, illegal dumping, and litter issues in different neighborhoods. According to $ John Chalmers$ , head of the Bureau of Solid Waste in the Public Works Department, this unprecedented process is key to eliminating the cleaning request backlog and improving the quality of residential life in the city:

$ “We’re going above what we’ve ever done before by using data analytics to inform our operations to eliminate this backlog. Getting rid of this backlog is critical to improve consistent and sustainable on-time performance for residents.”$ 

The information available on CleanStat is collected from various city agencies including the $ Department of Public Works$ , the $ Department of Housing$  Code Enforcement team, and the $ BMORE Beautiful $ peer-to-peer beautification program. Each month these organizations review key performance indicators and track the progress on enforcement goals related to the "Clean It Up!" campaign. According to CleanStat as of $ March$ , 97% of service requests have been completed on time in the past year. Arguably, the most innovative feature on the CleanStat dashboard is the public list of the city's top ten illegal dumping violators.

The Public Top 10 Violators List

The list of Baltimore's top ten most prolific illegal dumping and trash violators was designed to enforce sanitation compliance through public shaming. This list is made available to the public on the CleanStat dashboard through the $ Office of Performance & Innovation$ . The information on the list includes the names of the ten businesses with the most citations, the number of citations, the number of cited locations, and the fine amount. Fines for sanitation violations typically range from $50 for trash accumulation to $1,000 or more for severe illegal dumping.

Whenever an individual or business receives a sanitation citation, they can choose to pay the fine or request a hearing to contest the charge. The city updates this list monthly to reflect any new violators or resolved citations. This process of holding repeat violators accountable to the public has led to promising results. In the past six months, Baltimore has only issued four sanitation citations. Residents are encouraged to report any known or suspected violations to the city. Residents interested in the city's progress can visit the CleanStat dashboard or contact the $ Mayor's Office of Correspondence and Constituent Services$  directly by calling 410-396-4900.