I finally got around to cleaning out my closets back in March in time to bring a millennium's worth of bank statements (too much for my little shredder) and an old hard drive to the District's monthly shredding and e-cycling drop-off. (Some of the detritus was so worthless it just went in the trash. See above.) The Department of Public Works made it so easy: I drove up, a nice woman directed me to the lane for e-cycling, I proceeded there and motioned that I just had a hard drive, so the nice guy came to the driver's side window to get it, then I drove up the lane for shredding and flipped the back door lock and some nice folks grabbed the bags of shreddables. I don't know what these nice people are drinking, but I want some! I felt 50 pounds lighter after the experience. And I can actually walk in my walk-in closet now. They do this every first Saturday of the month, so they'll be out there this Saturday morning.
DPW Holds Monthly HHW/E-Cycling/Shredding Drop-Off Sat., June 1
There Is A Thursday Afternoon Drop-Off For HHW and E-Cycling only on May 30
The DC Department of Public Works will hold its next monthly Household Hazardous Waste/E-cycling/Personal Document Shredding drop-off Saturday, June 1, 8 am to 3 pm, at the Ft. Totten Transfer Station*. The monthly drop-off is held the first Saturday, except holidays, at Ft. Totten, between 8 am and 3 pm.
During the monthly HHW/E-cycling/Personal Document Shredding event, District residents may bring toxic items, such as pesticides, batteries and cleaning fluids to Ft. Totten, along with computers, televisions and other unwanted electronic equipment. Personal document shredding also is available that day and residents may bring up to five boxes of materials to be shredded. No business or commercial material will be accepted.
To accommodate residents whose religious beliefs prohibit them from using the Saturday drop-off, DPW will accept household hazardous waste and e-cyclables only on the Thursday before the first Saturday of the month (May 30, from 1 pm to 5 pm). While DPW normally offers personal document shredding during the Saturday event, items for shredding cannot be accepted on Thursdays because these documents cannot be protected until the shredding contractor arrives on Saturday. For a list of all household hazardous waste and e-cyclables accepted by DPW, please click on the HHW link at www.dpw.dc.gov.
DPW reminds residents that certain batteries (lithium-based and batteries greater than 9 volts) should be taped before being brought to Ft. Totten. Lithium-based batteries are most commonly found in cell phones, digital cameras and laptops. Also, hearing aids, watches and keyless remotes typically use button cells, containing lithium. To safely dispose of batteries with lithium or batteries of greater than 9 volts, put clear, masking or electrical tape on the batteries’ terminals. Flat button batteries can be sandwiched between two layers of tape. Examples are pictured on the next page. Place these batteries in a separate container from other batteries that don’t require being taped, e.g., A, AAA, C, D, 6-volt and 9-volt batteries.
*Directions to Ft. Totten: Travel east on Irving Street, NW, turn left on Michigan Avenue, turn left on John F. McCormack Drive, NE and continue to the end of the street. Directions from additional locations can be found at http://dpw.dc.gov/node/414922.
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