B737-700
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 655
Situational Awareness
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter FOD
General None Reported / Taken
Airport
There is an abundance of FOD (ongoing issue for months) that has the potential of damaging our aircraft engines at the very end of the back alley next to BWI Gate X. One primary contributor to the FOD/trash problem is the trash dumpster. The trash dumpster is next to BWI Gate X Safety Zone. It often has its doors left open; one dumpster top lid is broken off (I previously reported the broken dumpster top lid to BWI Company Operations and to the BWI Airport; and nothing has been done to fix the problem; months after my initial communication); is overflowing with trash/FOD (boxes; large plastic bags; etc.) which spill onto the flight line; and days go by with FOD/trash blowing around and laying on the ground with nobody (BWI Airport personnel or Company ramp agents) picking up the FOD/trash.I left on a flight on (date); when I observed a large clear plastic trash bag behind the dumpster sitting on the black plastic dumpster top lid; which had broken off the dumpster (laying on the ground). I also observed a large orange plastic tarp/plastic (large enough to damage an engine) wrapped around the base of a piece of yellow ground equipment (not moving with the wind because it is still caught on the yellow ground equipment). Other small FOD/trash (plastic bag; paper cup; etc.) was on the ground in the vicinity of the trash dumpster; just outside the BWI Gate X Safety Zone. I left on another flight today; (date); three days later; and the very same trash/FOD mentioned above was still laying on the ground. Nobody has picked up the trash/FOD in over three days. BWI Airport needs to repair/replace dumpster (next to BWI Gate X) with the broken dumpster top lid and remove the old broken dumpster top lid from the flight ramp. It would be even better if all the dumpsters were removed from the BWI flight line to reduce the FOD hazard to our engines. BWI Airport needs to communicate with contractors (airport restaurant operators; etc.) to secure the dumpster lids/doors after each use and stop dumping trash onto the flight line. Company BWI leadership needs to enforce our FOD awareness program. If ramp agents; ramp supervisors; Managers of Ramp Operations see FOD on our ramp; make arrangements to have it removed expeditiously so we minimize the FOD hazard to our engines. Our aircraft operate in a very confined space.
B737 Captain reported an ongoing FOD problem at BWI.