Visionary Leadership Needed for DC's Waste Management

The Honorable Muriel Bowser
Mayor
Washington, District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC  20004

VIA EMAIL

RE: Your recruitment of a sustainable waste management professional to lead DC DPW

Dear Mayor Bowser,

It goes without saying that DC is a wonderful city.  Your actions over the past months as you’ve addressed unwarranted attacks on our residents and an insurrection on our soil have made us even prouder to be District residents.  You are building a rich legacy for your tenure as DC Mayor.

The Sierra Club DC Chapter is very pleased to see that you are conducting a national search to fill the District’s Department of Public Works (DPW) Director position. While we realize that DPW has a broad mandate, as you seek the ideal candidate, we strongly urge you to look for a visionary waste management professional who is committed to sustainability and can help fulfill your Sustainable DC goals for waste.  These goals include a commitment to divert 80 percent of waste away from incineration and landfills by 2032. This commitment is highlighted in the 2019 Sustainable DC Plan 2.0.[1]  Unfortunately, little progress has been made toward this goal since it was initially stated in the Sustainable DC Plan issued in 2013.  The Sierra Club acknowledges this is a challenging goal, but it is a realistic one for a professional with expertise and a commitment to waste diversion and sustainability issues.

Today the District’s residential waste diversion rate still hovers in the low 20 percent range. The District’s current waste management plan was written in the 1970s, and despite Sustainable DC goals for developing a ZeroWaste management plan, no such plan exists. While we applaud that District residents can drop off compostable food waste at local farmers markets, tons of the District’s compostable food and yard waste is still sent to landfills and incineration where it creates methane and other greenhouse gases that harm human - and especially children’s health.  The reality that these facilities are located in marginalized communities only adds to the injustice of this issue.  And, while DC’s waste and recycling infrastructure is in dire need of upgrades, while the District is suffering a severe drop in tax revenue due to the impact of Covid-19, DPW continues to lose millions of dollars in revenue by undercharging waste haulers for dumping waste – some from Virginia and Maryland - at DC transfer stations. (Yes, these rates were recently raised but they are still below market rate). These issues have existed for years, despite repeated pleas from the DC Council and the environmental community to fix them. Meanwhile, there are tried, proven, and cost-effect waste management systems that other cities of similar size have successfully employed that are reducing waste, maximizing recycling and reuse, and creating a better environment.

There are many proven professionals within DPW that are well equipped to oversee the agency's other mandates (oversight of the District’s fleet, snow removal, alley cleaning, etc.); however, the Department currently lacks any leadership with a commitment to sustainable waste management. We strongly urge you to hire a waste management professional who is committed to sustainability - recycling and composting - to lead DPW.  We want to be able to attribute the accomplishment of DC’s Sustainable DC goals to your tenure.

With best regards,
Catherine Plume
Chair, Sierra Club DC Chapter
 
cc:
Councilmember Mary Cheh
Councilmember Charles Allen
Councilmember Janeese Lewis George
Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie
John Falcicchio, Chief of Staff
Lucinda Babers, Deputy Mayor