In honor of Earth Month, the Department of Public Works (DPW) is pleased to announce the reopening of food waste drop-off’s throughout the city, and an array of other services. On Earth Day weekend (April 21-22), DPW will be giving away kitchen caddies to the first 50 participants at each open drop-off location to help residents compost their food waste.

“Helping residents recycle and compost are priorities for DPW year-round as we work toward a cleaner and greener DC,” said DPW Director Christopher Shorter. “This Earth Day and throughout April, I encourage residents to familiarize themselves with the services DPW offers, and consider how they can fully utilize our city’s programs to be good environmental stewards.”

Mayor Bowser kicked off DPW’s first citywide Food Waste Drop-Off program on Earth Day 2017. Through the free service, residents are able to drop-off food waste at designated farmers markets in all eight city wards. The food waste collected at these drop-off locations is composted locally at District community composting sites and at the Prince George’s County Organics Compost facility.

As of April 1, the Food Waste Drop-Off program had collected nearly 150,000 pounds of organics from more than 20,000 participants in all eight wards over the last year.

Residents are encouraged to drop off the following types of food items: fruit and vegetable scraps; breads, grains, cereals, rice and pasta; coffee grounds, coffee filters and tea bags; egg shells; household flowers; and nutshells. Dairy, meat and fish items are not accepted.

As a reminder, DPW provides District residents with up to five 32-gallon bags (bring your own bags) of free compost weekdays (1pm to 5pm) and Saturdays (8am to 3pm), at the Fort Totten Transfer Station (4900 John F. McCormack Drive, NE).

And for those looking to get a head start on spring gardening, on the morning of Friday, April 20, staff from the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) will be giving out pollinator plant seeds at Metro stations across the District. The seeds—perfect for a backyard or balcony garden—support pollinators that are necessary for healthy and diverse plant life in the District.

DPW Launches “What Goes Where?” App

To help answer residents’ questions about how best to properly dispose of materials, DPW has launched a new search tool on the Zero Waste DC website. Using the app, residents can type in almost any item they can think of, after which they will be provided with information on how that item should be disposed of, recycled, reused or composted in the District. The app includes instructions on how to safely and legally dispose of household hazardous waste items and e-cycle electronic items.

DPW Helps Residents Organize Clean-ups in Their Neighborhoods

Residents interested in organizing a Saturday clean-up in their neighborhood can do so with the support of DPW’s Helping Hand Program. The program lends tool kits that include rakes and brooms, shovels, and trash bags. After the clean-up is finished, DPW will send a truck to collect the bagged trash. Free compost can also be delivered for neighborhood beautification projects.

To schedule a Helping Hand cleanup in your neighborhood, please call the Mayor’s Citywide Call Center at 311.

A series of clean-ups throughout the city on Earth Day is also being organized by Mayor Bowser. For more information, please visit the Mayor’s Office of the Clean City’s website.

2018 Sustainability Awards

Join Mayor Bowser and DOEE Director Tommy Wells for the 2018 Sustainability Awards on April 18, 5:30pm at Eastern Market’s North Hall. Winners include local nonprofit and educational organizations, private sector businesses, and a "People's Choice" award. The honorees support the goals of the District’s sustainability plan, Sustainable DC, in areas such as energy and water conservation, renewable energy production, healthy food access, stormwater management, green jobs development, and sustainable waste management. Please click here to RSVP.

DPW provides essential city services in two distinct program areas: environmental services/solid waste management and parking enforcement. Both contribute to making District streets and public spaces clean, safe, attractive and accessible for all residents, businesses, commuters and visitors.