Jimmy Taylor of the Department of Public Works collects trash at the National Mall on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018.

Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP Photo

Images of overflowing garbage cans and litter around the National Mall are a federal government shutdown classic. But things aren’t nearly as bad as one might think from a handful of posts on social media showing trash pile-ups.

That’s because, as promised, the District’s Department of Public Works has dispatched extra workers to pick up the federal government’s garbage. And for the most part, the city’s federal properties are pretty clean.

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Even as the partial government shutdown is affecting tourism, marriages, and bank accounts across the region, the District is still open and providing all city services. It wasn’t always that way, but a rider in annual spending bills since the 2013 shutdown has enabled the D.C. government to keep operating using local funds.

So while the Smithsonian museums are shuttered and the bathrooms barred, the city and a variety of community organizations are pitching in and picking up the trash at sites normally managed by the National Park Service.

In addition to the roughly 8,000 trash bins that the Department of Public Works collects from each day, the agency has added 604 federal cans to its routes. 

“We’re going out as much as three times per day in some locations,” says DPW Director Christopher Shorter. “We take great pride in doing this kind of work every day.” 

He acknowledges, though, that they might miss a bin here and there as workers adjust to new routes.

“We have made adjustments. We got some information from the National Park Service before the shutdown, they provided maps and locations of public litter bins. Some of them are behind sensitive areas, areas that we’re not used to going,” he says. “We want to encourage residents, if you see a public litter bin that is not being serviced to let us know … Call 311 or send us a tweet.”

The first week of extra trash collection cost the city about $54,600, a mix of overtime and regular hours that have been diverted to NPS sites, according to Shorter. 

The District government plans to ask the feds to be reimbursed for those costs once the shutdown is over, but there’s no guarantee that it will be granted. Mayor Muriel Bowser said on Friday that she will also seek reimbursement for 1,000 hours of overtime used to process unemployment claims. 

Other organizing are also lending a hand. The DowntownDC Business Improvement District is removing trash and litter along Pennsylvania Avenue and 33 sites around the National Mall, while the Capitol Hill Business Improvement District is attending to federal parks around the neighborhood, including Lincoln and Stanton parks.

Still, there’s only so much that the city can do. Shorter encouraged citizens to be good stewards and pick up stray litter if they see it.

But in some places, volunteers aren’t officially allowed to participate in cleanups during the federal government shutdown.

Rock Creek Park “looks like a passive space, but it’s really actively managed by its staff,” including monitoring of volunteer activities, Rock Creek Conservancy’s Director Jeanne Braha explained on the Kojo Nnamdi Show on Thursday. “While each park is different, volunteer services are not allowed in national parks during the shutdown.”

Bowser penned a letter to President Donald Trump last week urging him to end the impasse. But until then, she says, the city will keep making sure that the “basic needs of the nation’s capital are still being met,” including picking up the federal government’s trash.

“We’re going to pitch and do that,” said Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen on the Kojo Show on Friday. “Because this is our city.” 

Previously:
Two Weeks In, Here Are The Shutdown’s Real-Life Consequences
As More Federal Sites Close Due To The Shutdown, The Old Post Office Tower Reopens
Much Of The Government May Be Shut Down, But Tours Of The Capitol Are Still Running
‘LOVE Act’ Would Let Mayor Issue D.C. Marriage Licenses, Shutdown Be Damned
The Smithsonian Museums And National Zoo Are Now Closed Thanks To The Shutdown
The Christmas Tree Is Back Open, But These D.C.-Area Sites Are Still Dark Thanks To The Government Shutdown
The Federal Government Is Shut Down, But D.C. Is Still Open

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