DPW To Start Recycling Pilot in Ward 7 Neighborhood

Thursday, June 26, 2003

(Washington, DC) Recycling collection in the District has been an issue of significant concern to many residents. To improve service and manage operating costs, DPW is launching a small pilot program this week that will test the agency’s ability to bring recycling “in-house,” by 2005.

Over the next week, the recycling pilot will be implemented on one trash collection route in Ward 7. Residents in the pilot area, which includes approximately 700 households, were notified on May 21 via letter. New BLUE recycling carts were delivered on May 28 and collection – using the carts rather than the old bins – will begin on June 4. The route chosen for the pilot is a roughly crescent-shaped area bounded by Texas Avenue, Burns Street, H Street, 46th Street, Southern Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue, Alabama Avenue, Burns Street, and Ridge Road SE.

"We wanted to begin with a neighborhood that was representative of other Supercan collection areas, in terms of service mix (curbside vs. alley collection), population density and topography,” said Thomas Henderson, Administrator of the Solid Waste Management Administration.

Central to the proposed program is a new 32-gallon BLUE recycling cart that will replace the old bins. Like miniature Supercans, the carts have wheels and lids. The pilot will also introduce residents to “Single Sort” recycling, which means that all recyclables will go into the same container. Customers will no longer have to keep paper and other recyclables separated, nor will they have to lift heavy bins.

Department of Public Works (DPW) begins Recycling Pilot

Over the course of the pilot program, DPW will be gathering operational data including the number of setouts and the amount of material (pounds) recycled, according to Henderson. “In addition, we will ask the residents how the new approach is working for them,” he said.

As results are analyzed, the program will be modified as needed and then expanded to several additional routes this summer and fall. Full implementation in the remainder of the Supercan (once-a-week) trash collection area is tentatively scheduled for the first half of FY 2005, subject to budget authorization. Areas with twice-weekly trash collection are not affected and will continue to use the recycling bins.

DPW’s Solid Waste Management Administration and its Labor Management Partner, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Local 2091, spent a year studying the current recycling collection system, as well as several alternatives before developing the pilot program.

James Ivey, President of Local 2091, said “We are pleased to have this opportunity to show that public employees can deliver comparable or better service at a cost competitive with the private sector.”