Washington, DC

(Washington, DC) – Today, the Bowser Administration, with the support of union leaders from American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) announced an “All Hands on Deck” effort to catch up on trash collection that has been delayed due to hazardous conditions on weather-impacted alleys.

Tomorrow, Friday, February 27, 2015 at 6:30 am at the District’s solid waste collection headquarters at 1241 W Street, NE, City Administrator Rashad Young, Department of Public Works Director William O. Howland Jr. and representatives from AFSCME will be available to discuss the new effort.

Additional trash collection crews will hit the roads tomorrow and throughout the weekend to collect trash that has not been collected. As part of the effort, the District has allocated the following resources:

• additional crews from the leaf team will be activated for trash collection;
• additional crews from private companies will be engaged to add capacity; and
• an unprecedented effort to salt alleys to make them passable for trash collectors.

“We apologize for the delay in service. We are committed to providing the best service possible to the District’s residents. This winter has been particularly challenging, but the District’s government and our employees are rising to the challenge,” said City Administrator Young, Department of Public Works Director Howland and AFSCME Leaders Andre Lee and Barry Carey. “Our crews are going all hands on deck and will work through the weekend to ensure that all trash is picked up in the next 72 hours.”

Due to public health concerns, crews will co-mingle trash and recycling to ensure that all cans are emptied as quickly as possible. Some winter precipitation may occur early next week; therefore, the start of the weekly residential street sweeping program will be postponed to Monday, March 9, 2015.