DPW to Begin Frontside Household Trash and Recycling Collections this Weekend
Residents Should Expect More Updates on Sunday Evening Based on Progress Made Clearing Pathways through Alleys
(Washington, DC) – The DC Department of Public Works (DPW) has announced that sanitation collections, which were delayed this week due to the winter weather, will resume on Saturday, January 31.
Residential collections will also resume this weekend for households that normally receive frontside trash and recycling collection on Mondays and Tuesdays.
- Households that normally receive Monday frontside collection are asked to put their trash and recycling bins out front by 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 31 for pickup on Saturday.
- Households that normally receive Tuesday frontside collection are asked to put their trash and recycling bins out front by 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, February 1 for a Sunday pickup.
Starting today, the District is bringing on additional bobcats that will start clearing pathways through the alleys. These pathways will allow DPW collections teams to walk into the alleys. Throughout the weekend, teams will prioritize clearing pathways in alleys that normally get Monday and Tuesday collection.
The goal is that by Monday, DPW can resume household collections on the regular schedule for alleys and frontside. For this coming week, the same trucks will take trash and recycling; households with space in their recycling cans may choose to wait for regular recycling collections to resume before putting their recycling out.
Based on the progress that the Snow Team is able to make in clearing pathways through alleys over the weekend, DPW will provide another collections update on Sunday evening.
DPW teams have also been out doing two 12-hour shifts per day to collect waste from public litter cans. Those two 12-hour shifts will continue throughout the weekend.
Food Waste Collection Program & Food Waste Drop-Off Sites
Winter Weather Updates:
As a result of the winter storm from earlier this week, food waste collection and drop-off services are impacted. Please follow @dcdpw and @dczerowaste on social and check DPW.dc.gov and zerowaste.dc.gov for the latest about delays or food waste drop-off event closures.
There are several events that occur on Saturday (January 31st) and Sunday (February 1st) that will be open, but several farmers' markets have announced they are closed due to snow and ice accumulation. Please continue to check this webpage for updates about the weekend drop-off events: https://zerowaste.dc.gov/foodwastedropoff
Notices to DPW Food Waste Smart Bin Users:
- Most of the smart bins are serviceable but unplowed roads may affect the ability to service smart bins.
- If a smart bin is full or the lid cannot be opened due to accumulated snow and ice, please do not drop off materials; take them back home and store them in your freezer until roads are passable (and therefore smart bins are serviceable).
The Special Waste Collection Events: DPW Special Waste Collection Events for safe disposal and recycling of household hazardous waste, electronics, and secure document shredding will be conducted twice quarterly. Register at tinyurl.com/hhw-register. For more information on residential special waste, visit the District's Zero Waste
DC DPW’s Special Waste Collection Event has been moved from RFK Lot 3 and will now take place at Lot 8 entrance off Independence Ave SE through March of 2026. All registering attendees will be notified of the new location, and event staff will help guide attendees to the event. Registrations as well as Proof of DC residency will be required to enter the event
Eventbrite registration is presently available for the following two events:
- Thursday, February 5, 2026, at RFK Parking Lot 8 (2500 Independence Ave SE, Washington, DC 20003)
- Saturday, March 14, 2026, at RFK Parking Lot 8 (2500 Independence Ave SE, Washington, DC 20003)
REGISTER IN ADVANCE TO PARTICIPATE:
To accommodate everyone in a safe and timely manner, DPW is now requiring registration to…. District residents can sign up for a 15-minute entry slot when residents can arrive anytime in the 15-minute period and a DPW staff member will be there is assist you. Please note that the time selected is the arrival window, not the time of services. Only one ticket is required per vehicle. No entry will be allowed after 2:00 pm. Open to DC residents only. Please bring proof of residency (e.g., driver's license, utility bill, lease agreement) and Eventbrite registration. No commercial waste will be allowed. Register here.
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Takoma Aquatic Center Closure
The DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) would like to inform the community that Takoma Aquatic Center (300 Van Buren Street, NW) will be closed from February 2nd to March 10th for annual maintenance, upgrades to the locker room, and for the 39th Annual Black History Invitational Swim Meet.
The Takoma Community Center will remain open during this time. Takoma Aquatic Center will reopen on Wednesday, March 11, 2026.
Residents are welcome to contact DPR's Customer Care Center at (202) 673-7647. The call line is open during regular business hours (9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.), Monday through Friday, and is closed on weekends and holidays. You may also contact us via email at dprcustomercare@dc.gov.
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Wards 3 & 4 DPR Construction Update- Thursday, February 12th, 2026
Please join the DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) for a virtual community meeting regarding the upcoming capital construction projects coming to the Ward 3 and 4 communities.
Your attendance and feedback are greatly appreciated! Should you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at my contact information listed below.
Meeting details:
Date: Thursday, February 12th, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Virtual
For more information and to RSVP, please visit:
https://wardupdates.splashthat.com/
*Sign up to receive the complete Ward 4 Dispatch from Councilmember Janeese Lewis George.
Updates on DC’s Emergency Snow Response
As Ward 4 continues to navigate the snow emergency and prolonged freezing temperatures, I want to share a brief update on what we know, what the District is doing, and how my office is responding. I’ve heard from hundreds of neighbors who are frustrated and concerned about lingering snow, delayed services, and unclear communication—and I want you to know those concerns are valid and shared.
Residents deserve transparency about conditions on the ground and what to expect moving forward. This afternoon, the Mayor’s team provided an update on the District’s progress and ongoing response. Here is the latest:
- DPW’s focus is clearing areas that still need service, especially those flagged through 311. If your street hasn’t been addressed, please submit a 311 request.
- Residential trash and recycling collection will resume this weekend, starting with residents who receive front-side collection. If you receive front-side collection and your collection day is Monday, service will resume tomorrow. If your collection day is Tuesday, service will resume Sunday.
- DPW is working to bring on additional equipment to restart alley collections as quickly as possible. Crews will begin clearing alley pathways this weekend, with the goal of resuming regular alley service on Monday, although this will highly depend on progress made this weekend.
- By Sunday, we expect to have more information from the Mayor’s office and DPW regarding collection schedules for next week.
- Sidewalk shoveling enforcement also begins Monday. DPW will have locations set up across the District where residents can pick up salt to clear sidewalk ice.
- The Department of General Services continues to prioritize snow clearance at essential public facilities, including police stations, shelters, and recreation centers.
- My office is actively escalating streets in Ward 4 that have not yet received service and will continue to do so until we see meaningful progress.
Over the past several days, I’ve been seeing conditions firsthand and helping triage urgent cases as they come in. At the same time, I’ve heard concerning reports of faulty heating systems in DCPS schools and have been working with DGS to ensure these issues are resolved. Hearing directly from neighbors and seeing these challenges up close continues to guide how my team prioritizes service requests and escalations.
There are also some positive developments to share. Most DC Public Library locations have reopened, and DCPS schools resumed operations with a two-hour delay yesterday and today. We’ve experienced very few power outages citywide, and the recreation centers that were placed on standby for warming and shelter have not been needed.
I am deeply grateful to the many neighbors who have stepped up—shoveling sidewalks, checking on one another, and lending a hand wherever possible. I also want to acknowledge DPW crews who have been working around the clock in extremely difficult conditions. Their efforts matter, and we must continue supporting them with the resources they need to finish this work safely and effectively.
At the same time, I remain especially concerned about seniors, residents with disabilities, and others who are most vulnerable. Icy sidewalks, blocked alleyways, and mounds of ice in front of crosswalks and curbs are not minor inconveniences—they are serious safety hazards. My office continues to prioritize calls involving vulnerable residents, and I encourage you to reach out if you or a neighbor needs assistance. You can also support these efforts by volunteering to shovel snow through the Ward 4 Volunteer Corps (email ward4volunteercorps+subscribe@groups.io) or by joining the DC Volunteer Snow Team.
Finally, it’s clear that District agencies must do better in preparing for and responding to storms of this scale. As performance oversight hearings continue in the coming weeks, I will be pressing for answers on preparedness, coordination, and accountability so we are better equipped moving forward. I also encourage you to share your experiences by signing up to testify or submitting written testimony.
Thank you for your patience, your advocacy, and most of all, your care for one another. I will continue to share updates as we receive new information.
Ward 4 Budget Forum Set for February 10th
On Tuesday, February 10th at 2pm and 7pm, I am hosting virtual budget forums to hear neighbors' priorities for the upcoming FY27 budget process. This is your opportunity to speak about programs and projects that need funding and help guide my work advocating for Ward 4. Stay tuned for next week's newsletter for more details and how to sign up!
Performance Oversight Hearings Begin!
This was the first week of performance oversight hearings, and I was grateful to join several hearings to advocate for the needs and priorities of Ward 4 residents. On Wednesday, I joined the hearing for the Office of Unified Communications, which manages DC’s 911 and 311 systems. From public safety incidents to snow emergencies, our community needs an effective and reliable emergency response system, and Wednesday’s hearing helped clarify how OUC detects, identifies, and responds to problems when they arise. On Thursday, I chaired the Committee on Facilities’ first performance oversight hearing of the year, where we heard from residents on the Department of General Services. Hearing feedback from the community about how our public facilities are managed—from schools, to parks, to rec centers—was extremely helpful and will inform our oversight work moving forward.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll join hearings for agencies across District government, and discuss the issues I’ve heard from speaking with Ward 4 neighbors over the past year. If you can, please sign up to testify at a hearing on the issues that matter most to you and help guide oversight priorities for the year to come. All you need to do is visit dccouncil.gov/hearings and register to testify in person or virtually.
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Capital City Neighborhood Updates
I received the below update from Capital City Public Charter School on Friday, January 30th, 2026:
We want to update you on our current campus state, our plans for next week, and the ongoing concerns we have regarding students and families commuting to and from school safely. We recognize the challenges the city had in clearing snow and ice from the streets and sidewalks and have kept our building closed the entirety of this week.
We plan to welcome students back to school on Monday and our campus sidewalks, parking lot and entry areas have been maintained and our systems running normally.
The accessibility to the campus is drastically compromised due to the amount of ice piled up at every street corner.
The Bus stops on Kansas Avenue and Blair road by the 7-11 have yet to be cleared as well as the sidewalk leading to them. These are the primary bus stops that serve our students, staff, and families.
Moreover, the ice piled at each intersection currently prevents any pedestrian from walking to the school from any directions. Today, the few brave people using public transportation were forced to walk or stand in the car lane...
Additionally, all streets surrounding the school property are plowed only to the width of one car making it impossible for passing vehicles to get through. That also means street parking is not even an option which is already a challenge during normal school operations and Kansas Ave is currently undergoing renovations and inaccessible for parking on a normal day
For next week, we will be asking families to stagger their drop off (8-9am) and pick up (3:30-4:30pm). In addition, we are planning on staffing intersections during arrival and dismissal (as we already do). We requested additional snow treatment from our private contractor as well as requested city support via the "Reporting Snow issues" tracker to improve traffic safety along Peabody st NW 100 block, 2nd st NW between Quackenbos st and Oglethorpe st NW.
Please find attached a map of the neighborhood we are sharing with families and staff asking to follow traffic patterns to enhance safety and alleviate congestion.
However, we are sincerely worried for our student safety next week. We'd appreciate any support in getting streets cleared of ice and snow.
Councilmember Lewis George responded on January 31, 2026, and has contacted WMATA for assistance in clearing the bus stop. Unfortunately, DPW won't be able to plow the street corners until they have completed the residential roads. Her office will continue to advocate for a resolution.
If anyone is able to assist, please let me know.
Lead Free DC Update
DC Water’s Lead Free DC initiative is working to verify and replace 42,000 lead and galvanized iron water service lines across the District! Under this initiative, service line replacement (from the water main in the street to the home) will be completed for FREE, at no cost to the customer.
We have added additional blocks to our By-Block replacement program and our records show that several homeowners in your area have a lead or galvanized iron service line. While we have not yet confirmed the dates for this work, we are planning to start in the coming months.
As you are aware, lead exposure can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead can damage the kidneys and brain and has been linked with deficiencies in neurodevelopment. Adults with kidney problems and high blood pressure can be affected by low levels of lead more than healthy adults. Therefore, we strongly encourage homeowners to agree to the free pipe replacement.
Also, for the homeowner’s awareness, the water service line pipe material must be disclosed when the home is sold and to all renters.
We have already begun our outreach efforts to eligible homeowners, which included mailing the attached By-Block program brochure to homes selected for the program. We need your help in soliciting participation from customers.
Please visit our construction dashboard on the LFDC page which shows the location and status for all premises in the District, https://www.dcwater.com/lead-free-dc-construction-dashboard. Project information will also be posted to our website at https://www.dcwater.com/lead and updated regularly.
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