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Residents and ANCs protest DPW removals of public trash cans; request written criteria and notice
Summary
ANC speakers said DPW removed dozens of public litter cans—often after WMATA bus-stop changes and sometimes without notice—leading to local litter increases. Witnesses urged codified notice, clearer placement/removal criteria, and pilots before removal.
Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners told the committee that DPW's recent wave of public-litter-can removals has felt arbitrary and has produced immediate increases in sidewalk litter where cans disappeared.
"Removing public trash cans leads to more litter," Erin Palmer said, calling for "clear objective public standards for installation and removal" and for at least 30 days' written notice to ANCs and residents before any removal. Multiple commissioners said DPW's online map and 3-1-1 records undercount removals and that the only widely understood driver of the most recent removals was WMATA's Better Bus deactivation of stops.
DPW interim director Anthony Crispino told the committee the majority of recent removals (about 188 cans in the past six months, he said) were tied to deactivated bus stops and that the agency had no standing order to remove cans otherwise. He also acknowledged communications gaps and committed to updating ANC notification materials and the public map.
Committee members and witnesses discussed legislative options: commissioners asked the council to codify ANC notice language similar to the Clean Act's notice-of-intent template so ANCs can comment before removals. No binding policy change was adopted at the hearing; DPW agreed to follow up with more transparent information on can removals and replacements.
The hearing record remains open for additional written testimony through Dec. 22, 2025.
