Ward 3 cleaned out its closets for this event

The Roll-Off Day bulk trash dumpster stuffed with our stuff (photo courtesy Lorena Kowalewsky/Office of the Clean City)

It’s not even spring cleaning season yet. But when the mayor’s office put out the call for our junk, we answered.

Saturday, February 9th was Ward 3’s “Roll-Off Day,” an opportunity to get rid of bulk trash and other unwanted items and do so close to home. The Mayor’s Office of the Clean City started hosting these events in April 2018, each time in a different ward.

The organizers of the Ward 3 event in Van Ness set up a large dumpster for bulk trash in the alley between Gold’s Gym and 4340 Connecticut Avenue. Wisetek sent a crew to collect old TVs and other electronics waste. Goodwill sent a van for unwanted clothing and household goods.

Staff directed drivers into the alley to drop off bulk trash. (photo courtesy Lorena Kowalewsky/Office of the Clean City)

And all three thought they were well prepared. Based on its experience with previous events in other wards, the Office of the Clean City assured us that lines moved quickly and that there would be plenty of room to collect everything we brought.

Well, we brought everything. The Goodwill van left within the first half hour of the two-hour event, already bursting with stuff. Van Ness Main Street stored what was left behind until Goodwill could return to retrieve it the following Monday.

The donated items that did not fit in Goodwill’s van (photo courtesy Lorena Kowalewsky/Office of the Clean City)

VNMS Executive Director Theresa Cameron said the leftovers took up almost half her office.

“The electronics recycling folks also had to come back with another truck,” said Cameron. “And the large roll off bin was full of junk by the time 2 p.m. came around. The organizers said it was their most successful Roll-Off Day in DC so far.”

Lorena Kowalewsky of the Mayor’s Office of the Clean City says Wisetek collected close to 3,000 pounds of unwanted electronics.

A mass of obsolete electronics (photo courtesy Lorena Kowalewsky/Office of the Clean City)

The next Roll-Off Day is March 9th in Ward 5. And it appears that Van Ness would welcome it back for another round.