COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

OFFICE

OF

MARY M. CHEH

COUNCILMEMBER, WARD 3
CHAIR, COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & THE ENVIRONMENT

FROM:

Mary M. Cheh
Chair, Committee on Transportation and the Environment

DATE:

April 8, 2015

SUBJECT:

Summary of Public Oversight Roundtable on the Department of Public

Works collection of trash and recycling during inclement weather.

A.

Solid waste collection during the winter of 2014-2015

Inclement weather in the District

Snow and inclement winter weather are common in the District. The winter
of 2013-2014 was one of the snowiest on record, totaling 32 inches.1 And, during the
winter of 2010-2011, when the District was hit by the infamous snowstorm known
as Snowmaggedon, a total of 32.1 inches of snow fell in the month of February
alone, which was nearly seven times the normal monthly snowfall.2 Even this year,
during the winter of 2014-2015, snow blanketed the District just six days into the
New Year, causing traffic backups and delays. Although this winter is not the
snowiest on record, as of April 5, 2015, the District received a total of 18.3 inches of
snow.3 And, as predicted by weather experts during the Committees winter
readiness hearing held on November 14, 2014, the winter was colder than normal
meaning that the snow that did fall was likely to linger longer.

Ian Livingston, The long, white 2013-2014 winter: Bringing snowy back to the D.C. region (season
statistics), WASH. POST, Mar. 27, 2014.
2Megan Mussoline, Anniversary: Two Major Snowstorms Rocked DC, ACCUWEATHER.COM, (Feb. 6,
2013, 10:30 PM), http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/snowmaggedon-snowpocalypse2010/61391
3 This is the total of snowfall at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport as of April 5, 2015 as
recorded by the National Weather Service.
1

1350 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, N.W., SUITE 108

WASHINGTON, DC 20004

Missed trash and recycling collections in February

As the District repeatedly faced government holidays, consecutive snow
events, and persistent ice during the winter of 2014-2015, the collection of trash and
recyclinga vital city servicewas disrupted. The Department of Public Works
(DPW)through its 212 sanitation employeesprovides weekly or twice-weekly
trash collection to approximately 103,000 District households.4 Yet, during the
month of February of 2015, nearly 30-percent of the residents who are served by the
District experienced one or more missed trash and/or recycling collections.5 In fact,
by February 27th, approximately 200 tons of trash and recycling piled up across the
District6 because some collection routes had been missed for up to, or over two
weeks.7 As the District continued to miss collections, some residents took to
neighborhood listservs and social media to express frustration over the delays.8
Other residents contacted members of the Council, the Committee on
Transportation and the Environment, DPW, and other Executive branch officials
directly. DPW acknowledged the missed collections, and Director Bill Howland
cited icy conditions in alleys as the reason for the delays.9 According to Director
Howland, the average daily high temperature in February of 2015 was 31F, which
is significantly lower than the February average high of 46F.10
All-Hands-On-Deck Blitz
In response to the repeated missed collections and public criticism over
overflowing trash bins, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced an all-hands-on-deck
blitz to collect all of the trash and recycling in the District. During the blitz, leaf
collection and snow removal employees were used to assist with trash and recycling
pickups.11 Additionally, DPW contracted with private haulers to help with
collection.12 The blitz occurred over the weekend of February 28th and March 1st.
In an effort to collect all of the waste that accumulated over the course of two
weeks, DPW instructed its employees to commingle both trash and recycling in the
collection trucks. This meant that the materials would not be separated and that
both trash and recycling would be disposed of at the Covanta Energy-from-Waste
Department of Public Works Trash Collection and Recycling Programs: Public Oversight
Roundtable Before the Comm. on Transp. and the Envt, 21st Sess. Council of D.C. (2015) (testimony
of Director William O. Howland Jr., Director, Dept of Pub. Works).
5 Brady Holt, Council examines winter trash delays, NW. CURRENT, Mar. 25, 2015.
6 Aaron Davis, Bowser vows trash collection blitz, WASH. POST, Feb. 27, 2015.
7 Howland Jr., supra note 4.
8 Davis, supra note 6.
9 See id. (Repeated, if minor, snowstorms have come and gone over more than two weeks without
temperatures warming up enough to melt accumulating snow in the shaded alleys where most D.C.
garbage is picked up, according to Howland and the leaders of the unions that represent trash
collectors.)
10 Howland Jr., supra note 4.
11 Davis, supra note 6.
12 Howland Jr., supra note 4.
4

facility in Lorton, VA. Although DPW later informed residents that they could hold
on to their recycling if they did not want it commingled with trash, the message was
released after residents were told the materials would be commingled and
apparentlyafter pick-ups had begun.
B.

Public Oversight Roundtable

On March 20th, the Committee on Transportation and the Environment held

a public oversight roundtable to discuss DPWs collection of solid waste and
recycling during inclement weather. Committee Chair Mary Cheh heard public
testimony from a variety of individuals, including members of the environmental
community, private haulers, and District residents.
Chris Weiss, Executive Director of the DC Environmental Network
(DCEN), testified on behalf of the organization. Although members of the DCEN
acknowledged that the one-time decision to commingle did not have significant
environmental consequences, the organization provided several suggestions to help
avoid commingling in the future, including a suggestion that DPW consider
purchasing split rear loader trucks. These trucks allow for on-the-spot source
separation and remove the need for multiple collections. Barney Shapiro, the CEO
of Tenleytown Trash, testified that his clients did not experience any disruption in
collection during the winter of 2014-2015. While noting that his own crews were
ableand willingto enter snow and ice covered alleys for collection, he remarked
that DPW did not have the same fortune, becauseas he understood itDPWs
labor agreement allowed employees to outright refuse to enter an alley.13 He
suggested that the agency consider a policy that requires supervisory review of any
decision made by a collector to bypass an alley.
Director Howland, of DPW, testified about the effects this winters weather
had on trash and recycling collection. Specifically, the Director testified that
subfreezing temperatures in February contributed to icy alleys and those alleys
were difficult for sanitation collection crews to enter for the collection of trash and
recycling. Acknowledging the missed collections, Director Howland apologized for
the inconvenience caused to residents.

An examination of the Master Agreement between The American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees, District Council 20, AFL-CIO and the Government of the District of Columbia
reveals that there is no explicit language granting an employee the right to refuse to collect.
13

C. Discussion and Analysis

i.

Neither the failure to collect trash and recycling from alleys

nor the cost of the blitz was justified.

At the roundtable Director Howland cited icy alleys as the reason trash was
not timely collected in February. The Director testified about the willingness of
sanitation collection crews to collect trash and recycling from alleys during
inclement weather. According to the Director, [t]he good crews . . . theyre not just
skipping alleys. They are going to take their time, they are going to do what they
need to do . . . [t]he ones that are not as good will skip their alleys. 14 At the March
20th roundtableand at previous hearingsDirector Howland testified that its
labor agreement allows collectors to make on-the-spot decisions about whether or
not to collect from certain areas based on safety. Although the labor agreement
contains three provisions that may allow an employee to refuse to collect from an
alley due to safety conditions, there is no explicit language granting an employee
the right refuse to collect because of safety concerns.15 Nevertheless, discussions
during the roundtable appear to show that DPW had the authority to require
collectors to collect from alleys in the first place. While discussing alley collection
during the blitz, Councilmember Cheh noted to the Director that [s]ince you were
able to [have employees enter alleys to pick up trash] during the blitz, it seems like
youre able to do thatcontract notwithstandingduring the ordinary course, and
Director Howland responded, I would agree with that comment.16 And in fact,
during the blitz, DPW did send collectors into the alleys to collect all of the missed
trash and recycling, regardless of the terms of the labor agreement or weather
conditions. Moreover, Barney Shapiro, CEO of Tenleytown Trash, testified that
collectors should have been able to walk into the alleys to collect, even if they
believed that trucks could not pass through. According to his decades of experience,
the number of District alleys that are unsafe by both foot and truck traffic is
miniscule. Taking all of this information into consideration, it is clear that the
failure to collect trash and recycling because of icy alleys was not justified.
And the cost of the blitz was significant. In its responses to Committee
questions following the roundtable, DPW acknowledged that the entire blitz cost the
District a total of $288,677. This total included $115,000 for contractors hired to
assist with the blitz and $173,677 in overtime. As with the blitz itself, this cost was
unnecessary and could have been avoided if DPW had required sanitation collection
crews to walk into alleys to collect when trucks were unable to enter or if it required

Howland Jr., supra note 4.

See Article 9: Safety and Health, Section 3: Corrective Actions of the Master Agreement between
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, District Council 20, AFL-CIO
and the Government of the District of Columbia.
16 Holt, supra note 5.
14
15

a supervisor to justify skipping an alley in what would have beenat besta

miniscule number of cases.
D. Recommendations
i.

Cancellation of collection District-wide

The hearing touched upon a number of ideas to improve trash collection

during inclement weather. The first deals with a weather event so serious that the
District cancels trash collection throughout the District. In that instance, one
recommendation was follow a sliding schedule whereby missed collections are
picked up the very next calendar day, instead of the next collection daya practice
that the District follows when a holiday occurs. And, many residents thought this
slide approach would be followed during inclement weather. However, under
current District practice, if collection is missed because of inclement weather, DPW
simply ignores that missed collection and picks up on the next regular collection
day.
Approximately 70-percent of DPWs customers17 receive once-a-week
collection.18 This means that if inclement weather causes a cancellation of service,
only 30-percent of residents can expect collection within the week. Everyone else
must wait an entire week for collection. Director Howland argued against using a
sliding schedule that moves collection to the next calendar day. He noted that
sliding to the next calendar day would reduce the amount of time collectors have to
recover from vigorous work. It is unclearhoweverwhether this would present a
serious issue since it is what happens for holiday collections.
Moreover, Prince Georges County, Montgomery County, and Arlington
County all incorporate a sliding schedule that ensures that residents dont have to
wait an entire week for collection during inclement weather. Because of this, most
of these areas did not experience a backlog similar to what was experienced in the
District this winter. Consequently, DPW should reexamine its position on sliding
its collection schedule during inclement weather.
Region
Collects from alleys
Once-a-week trash
collection

Once-a-week
recycling collection

D.C.

Prince Georges
County

Montgomery
County

Arlington
County

19

(wards
3,4,5,7,8, and
part of 1)

DPW only collects trash and recycling from single-family homes and residential units with three or
fewer units.
18 Howland Jr., supra note 4.
19 Alley collection makes up less than 1% of Montgomery Countys service stops.
17

Region
Twice-a-week trash
collection
Slides trash and
recycling collection
to next collection day
if missed b/c of snow
Slides trash and
recycling collection
to next day if missed
b/c of snow

ii.

D.C.

Prince Georges
County

Montgomery
County

Arlington
County

20

(wards 2,6, and

part of 1)

Access to alleys during inclement weather

Again, the March 20th roundtable revealed that the exclusive problem for
Februarys missed collections was a failure to collect in alleys. In an effort to
redress the situation, one suggestion was to have residents bring their trash to the
front of their homes for collection. This method was used during Snowmaggedon
and was offered as an alternative when DPW is unable to collect trash and recycling
from alleys. According to Director Howland, this alternative would be problematic
for residents and particularly difficult for those who live in row houses or have a
disability, because he or she would have to walk a long distance to get the bin to the
front of the home. Additionally, Director Howland noted that this practice could
cause confusion to both residents and collectors.
Although shifting alley collection to street collection during inclement
weather may not be feasible, there are two other alternatives. First, when alleys
are covered in ice and snow, a collector can walk into the alley to collect the cans.
As this was done during the blitz, this should be the practice going forward.
Second, if a collector believes it is appropriate to skip alley collection completely, a
supervisor must specifically approve that action. This will ensure collector safety
and minimize disruption to residents.
E. Conclusion
The February failure to collect trash and recycling in alleys was not justified.
The remedy for the trash pile-upthe blitzwas expensive and unnecessary. As
snow and ice are common in the District, it is vital that DPW have a trash and
recycling collection policy in place that is flexible and minimizes disruption to
District residents during inclement weather. This policy should (1) require
Normally, Arlington County slides collection by one day if collection is missed because of snow;
however, one time during the winter of 2014-2015, collection was missed for two consecutive days
and therefore shifted to the next collection day. According to a representative in their office, that
was the first time that had happened since 2010.
20

collectors to walk into alleys to collect trash and recycling when trucks are unable to
enter; (2) require a supervisor to approve any decision to skip alley collection; and
(3) incorporate a sliding schedule that picks up trash within the same week.