Traditionally, January 6 or Epiphany day is the day where many Christmas decorations come down (and the three wise men bring MORE presents, but we digress). The Union Station regalia was struck this past Sunday, for instance, and most places are going back to normal– as are all those who hold down a regular 9-to-5. If you put up a real holiday tree in your house, you may have been a little puzzled by the Department of Public Works‘ new policy of having to submit a service request to have your tree picked up. This morning we, too, were confused about it. Naturally, when one is confused, one takes to Twitter. Thanks to the Mayor’s Office of the Clean City (@CleanCityDC if you want to give them a follow) we were able to ascertain the following:
Seriously. The Office of the Clean City is so kind. They took the time to answer several questions. We’re sharing their answers below:
So just to re-recap, all trees will be picked up by the Department of Public Works. If you actively choose to have your tree turned into mulch by them, you MUST put in a service request so that a special, Ward-wide truck can come and get your tree. And as a reminder of why we’re doing this, here is this tweet from DPW:
It’s easy to revile DPW for coming up with what some might call a draconian policy; however, it’s also a fact that many neighbors do not fully prepare their trees for mulching: Many trees are bagged –which you’re not supposed to do– and are still decked or flocked and therefore not suitable for going through the chipper and being turned into mulch. That said, if we are to care for the environment, we all need to make the effort to fully compost our trees. Concerned neighbor and ANC commissioner Corey Holman is the example we should all be following in the community:
That’s right: Corey put in 311 requests for 18 trees and he did it just because he cares. Be more like Corey, neighbors. Let that be your neighborly resolution for the year.
HAPPY 2020!!!!!