DPW Starts Christmas Tree Collection this Week

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by Prince Of Petworth December 29, 2013 at 10:04 pm 11 Comments

christmas_tree_pick_up_dc

Last year we spotted discarded trees into April. If you get yours collected by Jan. 11th – DPW will recycle them.

From DPW:

“Place holiday trees, wreaths and other greenery next to the trash container at the resident’s regular collection point. Trees collected between December 29-January 11 will be recycled. After January 11, trees will be collected with the trash as space allows in the trash trucks.”

Anonymous

This doesn’t make sense to me – in the past it had been the space between the sidewalk and the street. I live in a small apt building with our own garbage service, so do I put it near the street or near my dumpster that is not serviced by the city? Any ideas?
- ah
  
  I would put it in the street . . . the DPW website says: “Trees should be placed where trash and recyclables are collected.” For a lot of people that means in the front anyway . . . in my case, my trash is picked up in the rear but I still put my tree out on the street, where most people have their trashcans. It’s always been picked up and usually before April.
  - Anonymous
    
    If we’re reading the same web page it also says “Holiday trees and wreaths will be picked up between December 30 and January 11. Remove all ornaments and between Sunday, December 29 and Sunday, January 5, place the greenery at the curb for collection….”
    .
    So there’s some ambiguity there if your trash is not picked up at the curb. I can’t tell if the policy is the same or different as in previous years from what I’ve read. (I’m not too concerned since we keep our tree too long for curbside pickup anyway.)
17thSter

I second Anonymous. Last year we left the trees in or near the street planters. I also live in an apartment building that is not serviced by the city. I’ll check with my building management.
Anonymous

Can we talk about leaf collection for a second? Yesterday I saw a truck go by sucking up leaves, and I was disappointed that I hadn’t gotten mine out on time. But the status map shows our street hasn’t received the second pass, and our general collection area is practically untouched. Does that mean they haven’t “officially” done my block yet and will be coming later?
- ah
  
  The maps usually don’t update for a day or two in my experience. You can always call and they’ll eventually come back.
  - Anonymous
    
    Maybe, but unless they decided to jump from the edge of my section straight to the middle it doesn’t seem logical that they’d have done my street already. Also they normally have a team of people that spend a lot of time collecting the leaves, not one guy hanging off a truck with a hose.
  - Anonymous
    
    For three years running the leaf collection map has been updated with status that the passes have been made on our block on schedule, and for three years running I’ve had to file a 311 request because nothing was actually picked up on our block on those dates. I think they just fill in the map on the dates when the pass was *supposed* to happen. If the truck crew doesn’t make it that far on the scheduled day they don’t seem to really follow up which defeats the purpose.
    We left our tree in the alley with the trash last year as directed and it sat there until February. Maybe we’ll try the street this year! Sure.
Truxton Thomas

So apparently they’ve changed from leaving it in the sidewalk tree box to putting it out with the trash. I’m sure this is a new policy that has been well-communicated to DC city staff and residents and is not an oversight that will cause trees to remain uncollected until April again.
uvaeer

DPW twitter implies that this is a change from the past. https://twitter.com/DCDPW/status/415490277608927233. I believe that DC should have not actually been picking up the trees in the past from people like Anonymous and 17thSter, who like me, get their trash picked up by private providers and will not do so this year (though I’m sure if you have some trees up front that aren’t picked up for months a call from 311 will take care of it-worked last year).

Tenleytown Trash, for example, will pick up trees Jan 2-3, 9-10, and 16-17.
AMDCer

I just got an email from our property manager that our trash company (Bowie’s) will pick up trees left next to our receptacles (dumpsters) starting January 2 for two weeks, following our usual pick-up schedule.

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