Comments on: Dear PoPville – Update on Garbage/Recycling fines

By: bedubya

bedubya — Tue, 22 May 2012 03:29:49 +0000

I was thrilled to read this post. No, I don’t want anyone to fined unfairly. I got ticketed 3 times by the trash police in Ward 5, in Rosedale, when I was fixing up my house there. I fought the fine when someone started dumping trash outside my fence and I won. I live in Ward 2 now which is totally rat infested and get tired of seeing neighbors leave piles of trash on the street. (I know this is not the same issue as mixing up your trash and recycling.) I complain to the city and beg them to come out but can’t get a response. I want DC to enforce the rules regarding properly disposing of trash because I’m so tired of the rats that have taken over my patio. Seems like the only way to get a handle on the out of control rodent population is to control the trash. Plus, fining people would a huge revenue source for the city – just like parking tickets – so I can’t believe
DC hasn’t been even more aggressive about this!!

By: Ruby

Ruby — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:11:53 +0000

I still fail to understand why, if you contract with a private trash hauler to dispose of your trash, the City can ticket you for what you put in your cans. They have not stake in the game. Do they follow the trash trucks that pick up your trash to see where they take it? Seriously this is absurd. Moreover, they are only targeting condo buildings seemingly of more than 2 units (the threshold for having to contract out with non-city trash collectors). Single family homeowners get a free pass.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:41:34 +0000

We used to rent an apartment from a condo building in Dupont and were also targeted for these we’re desperate-for-revenue BS tickets. As renters we didn’t have to pay the fines but the association did. I had the board president lecture me about how we’ve gotten $1000+ fines for having toothpaste boxes in the trash. Ridiculous! The only solution is to keep the dumpsters behind lock and key. The co-op I live in now just has an indoor trash room that the trash guys have access to so AFAIK we haven’t been fined. It’s the same BS as getting $50 tickets for keeping your old permit sticker on your car along with the new one or the million other stupid tickets this city issues to make up for irresponsible budgeting.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:35:25 +0000

my guess is that the “targeted” areas are the same areas where the residents probably call and get full city service for trash removal, fixing lights, fixing pot holes, etc thus perhaps they also get tickets for broken rules..

By: john2010

john2010 — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:29:05 +0000

Sad but true. DC offers selective enforcement and won’t fix the real problems.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:50:01 +0000

My building on U St used to get a lot of tickets. We appealed and won (arguing that we couldn’t control random people throwing garbage into our dumpster). As a result, we did chain our dumpster and have not received any tickets since.

By: anon in Park View

anon in Park View — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:48:56 +0000

More, from http://dpw.dc.gov/DC/DPW/Services+on+Your+Block/Street+and+Alley+Cleaning/Solid+Waste+Education+and+Enforcement+Program+%28SWEEP%29 :

Sanitation Enforcement

DPW emphasizes educating the public about proper sanitation practices, such as using trash cans rather than trash bags, using street litter cans and street recycling cans for pedestrian trash and recycling rather than littering, and keeping the sidewalk around your property clean. As the District’s population continues to swell, DPW makes a special effort to ensure new and long-time residents know their roles in keeping our city clean. When education does not work, SWEEP inspectors will issue tickets for violations such as using street litter cans for trash that should go in your own trash can, improperly posting signs in the public space, or having trash/recycling containers in public space before 6:30 pm the day before your collection day or after 8 pm on the collection day. Business property owners may be cited for not having licensed trash and recycling haulers or not having frequent enough solid waste collections.

By: herewegoagain

herewegoagain — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:45:59 +0000

I beleive that it is illegal to leave your cans on public property (ie, alley or sidewalk) or someone else’s property. I don’t think there is a rule about where to keep the can on your property.

By: anon in Park View

anon in Park View — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:42:52 +0000

Yes, it’s a violation.

http://dpw.dc.gov/DC/DPW/Services+on+Your+Block/Recycling/Residential+Recycling+Collection

To ensure your trash and recycling are collected, place trash and recycling containers out for collection no earlier than 6:30 pm the night before collection and no later than 6 am on your collection day. Residents are required to remove trash and recycling containers from public space by 8 pm on your collection day.

By: petworthian

petworthian — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:39:00 +0000

On a different, but related note. What are the laws regarding leaving ones trash and recycling bins out for collection. My next door neighbor just leaves his out in front of his house all year long. Everyone else on the block will bring their bins out the night before collection and then roll them back up to their house or around to their back yards the next day. It’s inconsiderate that he thinks we want to all walk past his bins all the time. I have asked him if he wouldn’t mind moving them and even brought them around to the rear of his house for him before, buthe still won’t do anything about it. Is this a violation of some sort?