City Desk » Linda Grant

Wait! Don’t Tip Your Garbage Collector!

Shani Hilton — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:12:01 +0000

Forget everything you've heard about holiday tipping. Here in the District, residents should apparently forgo tipping their garbage collectors in favor of writing a nice note to the boss. On the Tenley email list, Department of Public Works spokesperson Linda Grant writes:

We would prefer that you express your appreciation in writing to DPW Director Howland at either William.howland@dc.gov or the address below. Please include the truck number, your block, e.g., 1300 block of R Street, NW, and the names of the crew members, if you have them. On behalf of my co-workers, thank you for taking the time to recognize their hard work and happy holidays to you and yours.

William O. Howland, Jr.
Director
DC Department of Public Works
2000 14th Street, NW
6th Floor
Washington, DC 20009

Though Emily Post notes that tipping $10-30 is standard for garbage collectors, she concedes that one should first "check city regulations if it is a municipal service."

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

DPW: “We Are Collecting Today”

Jason Cherkis — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:27:54 +0000

If you haven't already bothered to figure this out, there's big news in post-snow trash removal. The Department of Public Works has ambitions to brave the snowy side streets and pick up your trash. DPW's Linda Grant tells City Desk: "We are collecting today."

Grant cautions that District trash haulers won't be able to do any alley pickups. If you want your trash collected, Grant says, residents must place the trash in front of their dwellings. She adds that residents must place the trash in dark-colored plastic bags. But will they get to everyone's trash? Not a chance.

"We're going to do our absolute best," Grant says. "There are many side streets that have snow....We've got some narrow streets because there was so much snow. But we will do our best."

Grant adds that recycling pick-up has been suspended.

And, well, if you live in a building that uses a private hauler, you are probably out of luck.

Street Sweepers (and Their Spying Cameras) Hibernate Today

Dana Liebelson — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:35:00 +0000

Bid adieu to your friendly neighborhood sweeper/undercover spy—it’s winter now, according to the Department of Public Works (DPW). Linda Grant, a DPW spokesperson, confirms that street sweeping ends today, and won’t resume again until the spring. She says, “It’s a little colder this year, and the machine’s spray can ice over the streets and cause accidents….There are also lots of leaves on the ground, so we want to focus on leaf collection.” So stop looking over your shoulder for Sweepercams! Park where you want to park! And, seriously, go frolic in some pretty orange leaves before DPW carts them away!

Photo by Wayan Vota, Creative Commons Attribution License