(Washington, DC) The Department of Public Works (DPW) announced today how services will be affected January 21, 2008, when the District observes Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as well as the holiday trash and recycling collections schedule for the remainder of 2008.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Monday, January 21, 2008
DPW offices will be closed to observe the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Most DPW services will be suspended, including trash and recycling collections, street and alley cleaning, and parking enforcement (meters, residential and rush hour lane restrictions, and booting, towing or abandoned vehicle removal). All services will resume Tuesday, January 22, 2008. Trash and recycling collections in once-a-week collection neighborhoods will “slide” to the next day for the remainder of the week. In neighborhoods with twice-weekly trash collections, Monday and Thursday collections will be made Tuesday and Friday, and Tuesday and Friday collections will be made Wednesday and Saturday.
DPW will, however, collect leaves and holiday trees on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
“We are extending our leaf and holiday tree collections through the end of January to make up for time lost due to actual and predicted snow events,” said DPW Director William O. Howland Jr. “Our leaf collection team is the backbone of our snow response team, which means they discontinue collecting leaves when snow or other winter storms are predicted. In December, we had one actual snow event and predictions of three others. For public safety reasons, we switch our leaf collection equipment to snow fighting equipment to be ready when snow falls.”
DPW reminds residents that leaves should be raked into tree box spaces or bagged and placed at curbside for collection. Residents disposing of holiday trees and other greenery should strip them of all ornaments and tinsel, and place these items at the curb. Trees and greenery collected from curbside by during January will be mulched.
After January, residents who want their trees to be mulched, may bring them to the Ft. Totten Trash Transfer Station at 4900 Bates Road, NE, where a special container will hold the trees for pick up by a contractor. This service will be available until it is determined that there is no further need for this service and the season has ended. Ft. Totten is open to residents on weekdays from 1 pm to 5 pm, and Saturdays from 8 am to 3 pm, except on holidays, such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 21.
Residents also may place their trees with their trash and the collection crews will pick them up as space permits in their trucks. These trees will be taken to the landfill.
For questions about these collections, please call (202) 727-1000.
2008 Holiday Trash/Recycling Collections
The trash and recycling collections schedule for the remaining 2008 holidays follows:
January 21–Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Februrary 18–President's Day
April 16–DC Emancipation Day
May 26–Memorial Day
July 4–Independence Day
September 1–Labor Day
October 13–Columbus Day
November 11–Veterans Day
November 27–Thanksgiving Day
December 25–Christmas Day
January 1, 2009–New Year's Day