DPW offers assistance to community groups that organize Saturday neighborhood clean-up projects through the Helping Hand Program. The program runs seasonally from March 1st to November 1st every year. The program can lend tool kits, which include 5 rakes and brooms, 2 shovels, and 20 trash bags, to the groups. However, a refundable deposit of $20 is required for all tool kits borrowed under the Helping Hand Program. The Fort Totten Transfer Station is currently out of mulch. We’ll share updates as soon as mulch is restocked. In the meantime, residents can still drop off yard waste or take advantage of other services at the site

DPW will send trucks to collect the bagged trash, and a SWEEP (Solid Waste Education and Enforcement Program) inspector will collect the tool kit. If you want to get an application for a Helping Hand tool kit for your neighborhood clean-up project, you need to call the Mayor’s Citywide Call Center at 311. Once your clean-up date is confirmed by a Helping Hand Coordinator, a control number will be assigned for tracking purposes. The event will be added to the Helping Hand calendar, and the tool kit will be delivered. Residents can pick up free mulch between March and October, Tuesdays to Fridays from 10 AM to 2 PM, and Saturdays from 7 AM to 2 PM at the Fort Totten Transfer Station, located at 4900 John McCormack Rd NE. If you have any questions about the Helping Hand Program, please call us at (202) 645-7190.