District of Columbia Department of Public Works: reviews, rating and service info
DC DPW collects trash and recycling from District homes and buildings with three or fewer living units.
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Municipal departmentOfficial websitePublic phone: 202-673-6833Schedule lookupMissed pickup
The District of Columbia Department of Public Works (DPW) collects trash and recycling from single-family homes and buildings with three or fewer units. Most households get one collection a week; homes on narrow streets and alleys in Wards 2 and 6 and part of Ward 1 get trash twice a week. Bulk items and yard waste go by 311 appointment. Find your days with DPW’s Trash and Recycling Collection Day App.
Serves: Washington, DC.
What they collect and how often
- Trash: in the 96-gallon Supercan, or a 32-gallon mini-Supercan where pickup is twice a week.
- Recycling: weekly, loose; paper bags are fine, plastic bags are not.
- Bulk and yard waste: by appointment through 311.
Find your collection day
DPW’s Trash and Recycling Collection Day App returns the day or days for an address. It also returns a day for larger buildings, but DPW says that does not mean the city serves them.
Set-out rules
Put bins out no earlier than 6:30 p.m. the day before and no later than 6 a.m., and bring them back by 8 p.m. on collection day. When DPW moves summer crews to a 5:30 a.m. start, cans may go out from 6 p.m. the night before. Bag trash inside green bins with tight lids.
Holidays
When a holiday falls on a collection day, that day and the rest of the week slide one day, through Saturday. On twice-a-week routes, Monday and Thursday move to Tuesday and Friday, and Tuesday and Friday to Wednesday and Saturday. DPW’s Slide Guide has the dates.
Bulk, brush and special items
Book bulk pickup through 311 or 311.dc.gov; the crew takes up to seven items per appointment. Set them out between 6:30 p.m. the night before and 6 a.m., or risk a sanitation ticket. Accepted: furniture, appliances with doors removed, drained air conditioners, water heaters, rugs rolled and tied, and mattresses wrapped in plastic. Refused: renovation debris, electronics, tires, stumps and bagged trash. Yard waste pickup, up to 20 paper bags, is also booked through 311; tie small limbs and put them out with trash.
Hazardous waste, electronics and drop-off
Special Waste Collection Events take household chemicals, paint, batteries, electronics and up to five boxes of papers for shredding, free with registration and proof of DC residency. DPW holds Special Waste Collection Events on the dates, hours and sites posted on its special waste page. Fort Totten Transfer Station, 4900 John McCormack Road NE, takes residents’ bulk items, trash, recycling and yard waste Tuesday to Friday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Missed pickup and contacts
Report a missed collection through 311 or 311.dc.gov. DPW’s office is at 899 North Capitol Street NE; phone 202-673-6833, email dpw@dc.gov.
What this is not
Buildings with four or more units, condos, co-ops, mixed-use and commercial properties must hire a licensed private hauler for trash, recycling and bulk items. Benning Road Transfer Station is closed until further notice; use Fort Totten.
On Trashbagging
Washington, DC trash pickup and District rules. Guides: paint, lithium-ion batteries, household hazardous waste, mattresses, pizza boxes.
Context photo: Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial across the Tidal Basin. Daniel J Simanek, 2009-07-14. CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source. Resized for web.
- Legal name
- District of Columbia Department of Public Works
- Operating status
- Active
- Public email
- dpw@dc.gov
- Headquarters
- Washington, District of Columbia
- Assignment model
- Municipal service
- Service summary
- Address-based collection. In summer DPW may move crews to a 5:30 a.m. start. Holidays slide to the next day through Saturday.
- Waste streams
- Trash; recycling
- Property eligibility
- Single-family homes and buildings with three or fewer living units.
- Office hours
- Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except District holidays
- Holiday schedule
- dpw.dc.gov/service/holiday-trash-recycling-and-food-waste-collections-schedule
- Primary source
- dpw.dc.gov/service/find-your-collection-schedule
- Last verified
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Sources
- Find your collection schedule: carts, frequency, holiday slide, office.
- Residential Collection Information: set-out times, 311 requests, yard waste.
- Recycling Collections: weekly recycling, wards, eligibility.
- Bulk Trash Collection: bulk rules, Fort Totten hours.
- Holiday schedule: Slide Guide.
- DPW home: summer hours, Benning Road closure.
- HHW, E-cycling and Document Shredding: events, accepted items.
Questions
Who collects trash in Washington, DC?
My building has four or more units. Who collects?
What time does DC trash collection start in summer?
Does DC trash pickup change on holidays?
How do I get bulk trash picked up in DC?
Sources and corrections. Each listing links the organization’s official website and its primary source page, with the date we last verified them; contacts and rules are copied from those pages, not from a brand’s advertising. Add a Service if an organization is missing, or Suggest an Edit if a listing is wrong. Submissions are reviewed against the official source before anything is published.