Columbia Heights ANC Aims to Rat Out Trash Dumping Scofflaws

Community leaders in Columbia Heights and Park View are looking to ensnare landlords suspected of illegally dumping garbage that overflows public litter cans in their neighborhoods.

ANC 1A members last night unanimously approved a resolution that aims to identify which multi-unit residential buildings in Columbia Heights and Park View do not use private trash collectors as required by law. Under D.C. code, District trash collectors won’t take garbage from residences with at least four units.

The resolution calls on the D.C. government to check whether the residential buildings with at least four units have contracts for private trash collection and dumpsters in good condition. The ANC members also want a list of all the buildings audited, with information on the properties’ compliance.

The request, sent to the District Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, notes that the use of public litter cans for household garbage is a “prevalent practice” in Columbia Heights and Park View. The appeal to DCRA adds that extra trash in the cans draws rodents and bugs.

“Other than being unsightly . . . many of them are actually contributing to the rat problem,” ANC 1A chairman Kent Boese said of the overflowing cans.