(Washington, DC) – Today, the DC Department of Public Works (DPW) highlighted its top achievements for 2025, including intensified enforcement of high-dollar scofflaw vehicles, recognition as one of the 100 Best Fleets in America, and expanded food waste diversion options.
Fewer Dangerous Vehicles = Safer Streets in Every Ward
In 2025, DC reported nearly a 50% drop in traffic fatalities. DPW strengthened efforts to impound scofflaw vehicles, which are directly linked to higher traffic risks. By procuring additional boots and increasing the team’s ability to impound vehicles in all wards, parking enforcement officers:
- Impounded a total of 2,151 vehicles for unpaid tickets in FY2025, up from 2,011 in FY2024; and
- Booted 4,047 vehicles in FY2025.
Removing these vehicles from the road until vehicle owners take responsibility by resolving their fines and coming into compliance with the law deters repeat offenders and supports safer conditions for all roadway users across all eight wards.
12 Years of Reducing Communities’ Food Waste
Under Mayor Bowser’s leadership, DPW officially launched its suite of food waste programs. Last year, DPW scaled up its sustainability initiatives to reduce landfill waste and lower greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by:
- Expanding residential food waste collection from 9,000 to 12,000 households;
- Installing 30 public food waste smart bins in every ward; and
- Adding more weekend Food Waste Drop-off options.
Through these combined efforts, DPW collected nearly 1,000 tons of food waste in 2025, preventing organic material from being landfilled and turning them into valuable compost that supports healthier soils and a greener District.
Since 2014, the agency’s food waste options have collected more than 11 million pounds of food waste for composting, the environmental equivalent of taking about 500 gas-powered passenger vehicles off the road or planting about 35,000 trees and growing them for 10 years.
Cleaner Vehicles and National Recognition
DPW, which procures and maintains more than 3,000 District government fleet vehicles, also addressed GHG this year by continuing to provide cleaner fleet strategies. The agency uses biodiesel in its heavy-duty fleet and procured more than 200 electric vehicles and forklifts, reducing emissions across a diverse range of equipment. As a result, DPW ranked #40 in last year’s 100 Best Fleets in the Americas annual competition presented by the North America Fleet Association.
Cleaner Gateways to the Nation’s Capital
In addition to its typical year-round efforts to help keep the nation’s capital clean, DPW dedicated more personnel to tackling illegal dumping and littering along major thoroughfares through its “Consistently Clean Corridors” initiative. In 2025, DPW:
- Removed more than 400 tons of debris along highways; and
- Removed graffiti from 5,041 surfaces.
Critical Responder Support During High-Profile Events
At the start of the year, DPW showed its flexibility and versatility by successfully managing back-to-back snow events while simultaneously providing critical responder support that allowed the safe and fluid coordination of President Trump’s inauguration activities and President Jimmy Carter’s funeral procession. This brought positive national and international attention to the District and the praise of various federal partners, including the US Secret Service.
DPW also coordinated the District’s annual Citywide Truck Touch—a fun, interactive festival connecting residents with DC government employees and services. The free festival drew a record number of visitors – over 13,000 – making it the largest Truck Touch event in the country.
“2025 was a year of measurable progress for DPW and the District because we delivered services that contributed to safer streets, cleaner neighborhoods and reduced our carbon footprint,” said Interim Director Anthony Crispino. “And when the nation’s eyes were on DC, DPW delivered critical responder support that allowed for the seamless coordination of the year’s most televised and historic events.”