Residential operations including bulk, trash, and recycling drop-off will take place at the Benning Road Transfer Station. The Fort Totten transfer station will be closed for drop-offs until June 2023. Operations will be moved to the Benning Road Transfer station located at 3200 Benning Road, NE starting April 6, 10 am – 2 pm, Wednesday – Friday.
Residents can still contact 311 to schedule a bulk pick up.
The safe disposal of hazardous household waste (HHW) and unwanted electronic equipment such as computers, televisions, VCRs/DVRs, stereos and fax machines (Electronic Recycling) helps to prevent the release of dangerous, toxic substances into the environment and prevents harm and injury to DPW workers. Please review our list of Accepted/Prohibited Items. Only some of the items on this list are accepted at the eCYCLE DC events run by electronics manufacturers and overseen by DOEE. For details on those events, please see DOEE’s eCYCLE DC Program.
- Burn or cause a fire
- Eat away materials
- Destroy living tissue on contact
- Cause an explosion or release poisonous fumes when exposed to air, water or other chemicals
- Damage or destroy cells and chromosomal material
Please do not put these items in trash or recycling containers or set out for bulk collection for DPW to pick up.
HHW Prohibited Items – Medicine and Needles & Sharps are household hazardous waste that require special treatment.
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Needles & Sharps (syringes used for diabetic injections) The improper disposal of contaminated sharps is a serious safety concern for garbage collectors and landfill workers. Please review the Department of Energy and the Environment. step-by-step guidance sheet for safe disposal.
- Medicine (Do not pour medications down the sink or flush down the toilet.) Please see the What Goes Where? tool on the District's Zero Waste web site. Enter “medications” in the search box for a list of local pharmacies that have medication drop-off boxes. If you cannot make it to a drop-off location, mix crushed pills or liquid with dirt, cat litter, or used coffee grounds, then put in the trash. Empty pill bottles are recyclable after removing personal information and label from the bottle.
Document Shredding
We also accept personal documents to be shredded on the first Saturday of each month at the Benning Road Transfer Station, from 7 am until 2 pm. No documents will be accepted for shredding except on the first Saturday of the month because DPW cannot secure these documents without the shredding contractor on site.
Drop-off Schedule for HHW / Electronics Recycling
Disposing of HHW and unwanted electronic equipment is easy every Saturday between 7 am and 2 pm, except holidays, at the Benning Road Transfer Station, 3200 Benning Road, NE. The Fort Totten Transfer Station will not accept these items during this change. An additional HHW/Electronic Recycling drop-off occurs the Thursday preceding the first Saturday of the month (except holidays), between 10 am and 2 pm.
The electronics recycling drop-off at Benning Road Transfer Station is separate from the eCYCLE DC events run by electronics manufacturers and overseen by the Department of Energy & Environment. For details on those events, please see DOEE’s eCYCLE DC Program
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