C O U N C I L O F T H E D I S T R I C T O F C O L U M B I A

O F F I C E O F M A R Y M . C H E H C O U N C I L M E M B E R , W A R D 3

C H A I R , C O M M I T T E E O N T R A N S P O R T A T I O N & T H E E N V I R O N M E N T

1 3 5 0 P E N N S Y L V A N I A A V E N U E , N . W . , S U I T E 1 0 8

W A S H I N G T O N , D C 2 0 0 0 4

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.

1 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-snowpocalypse-

2010/61391 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.

2

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

4 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.

3

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 andapparentlyafter 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.

13 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.

4

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

14 Howland Jr., supra note 4. 15 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.

5

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 D.C. Prince Georges

County

Montgomery

County

Arlington

County

Collects from alleys 19 Once-a-week trash

collection

(wards

3,4,5,7,8, and

part of 1)

Once-a-week

recycling collection

17 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.

6

Region D.C. Prince Georges County

Montgomery

County

Arlington

County

Twice-a-week trash

collection

(wards 2,6, and

part of 1)

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

20

ii. 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

20 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.

7

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.