Where Does the Trash Go in Washington, D.C?

Ever tossed a can into a bin and wondered what happens when it is dumped at the landfills or have you asked how the Material Recovery Facilities make a profit by recycling our wastes?

It’s amazing that the amount of waste generated in the District of Washington is about 800, 000 tons per year as reported by the Department of Public Works (DPW).

Although our responsibility as residents is to ensure that the environment is clean from everyday dirt and whenever we have a considerable demolition, home improvement or construction project, we should also consult waste management companies like Starr Dumpsters.

However, it is good that we have an idea of how the waste generated in our homes or commercial activities are handled.

First off, there is a recycling plant situated 30 miles north of Washington with massive energy-guzzling machines having sorters, crushers and giant conveyor belts and designed to handle tons of plastic, paper, and other recyclable items.

For environmental sustainability, recyclable waste management in the district is divided into two:

The solid-wastes to energy

A sophisticated solid waste management system – The Spokane’s Waste to Energy (WTE) facility is designed to handle up to 800 tons of municipal solid waste a day. It is a facility designed to encourage recycling and waste reduction. It can generate 22 megawatts of electricity by burning municipal solid waste. 

The waste management facility is revolutionary because it could reduce the solid waste by 90 percent by volume and 70 percent by weight.

Chemical waste management 

There are chemical waste management facilities in the city that are designed to handle hazardous waste and to protect the environment and public health. They are integrated with quality leachate collection, liners, gas control systems, and groundwater monitoring to ensure a pristine environment.

The updated waste management sustainability plan of Washington, DC

The city is working towards maintaining its waste management sustainability plan – Sustainable DC 2.0. The plan was focused on waste recycling with goals to ‘increase the citywide recycling rate’ and to achieve 80% waste diversion by 2032.

The goals in the sustainability plan are divided into three:

1. To reduce the districts overall waste generation. Target 1 – reduce per capita waste generation by 15% by 2032
2. To accelerate the recovery and reuse of items disposed of in the city. Target 2 – reuse 20% of all waste generated in the district
3. To achieve 80% waste diversion citywide

The future of waste disposal and management in Washington DC

With the various solid waste-to-energy and chemical waste management plants, the future of waste management in the city is bright. However, it is the responsibility of the city dwellers to ensure that the home, construction, demolition, hazardous and commercial waste are efficiently handled by professionals.

If you have home improvement, expansion or new construction project, do not hesitate to rent a roll-off dumpster from Starr Dumpsters. We have different types and sizes of dumpsters from 10, 15, 20 and 30 cubic yard dumpsters.

At Starr Dumpsters, we’re dedicated to fast delivery and our pick up time is flexible for any type of dumpster rental. That affords you the opportunity to have our dumpsters throughout your project or when it is filled up with trash.