TRASH TRANSFER STATION FACT SHEET
Department of Public Works
July 2018
PRE-SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS
As a result of the District’s inability to accept trash from private haulers in 1993, several smaller trash
transfer stations began to pop up and operate throughout the District. The trash transfer stations were
situated in warehouses, vacant lots and very close to and sometimes within residential areas.
In 1994, the District attempted to shut down the trash transfer stations on zoning and licensing grounds.
Several lawsuits were filed and the District lost most of them, but two transfer stations did close as a
result of these efforts: the James Taylor and Eastern Waste stations.
In the interim, the District negotiated settlement agreements with Waste Management, the operator
and owner of two of the largest trash transfer stations, and BFI, the operator of a large transfer station.
Settlement Agreements were reached, and, as a result, Waste Management closed a station and BFI
ceased operation of a station it was leasing. BFI was later acquired by Republic.
There were six trash transfer stations, other than DPW’s1, operating in the District in 1994:
BFI – 1220 W Street, NE
Rodgers Brothers – 2225 Lawrence Avenue, NE
Waste Management – 2160 Queens Chapel Road, NE
James Taylor – 5201 Hayes Street, NE
Eastern Waste – 1131 1st Street, SE
Waste Management – 1140 3rd Street, NE (Uline Arena)
POST-SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS
Three trash transfer stations, other than DPW’s, continued to operate in the District:
Progressive (IESI) – 1220 W Street, NE2
Rodgers Brothers – 2225 Lawrence Avenue, NE3
Waste Management – 2160 Queens Chapel Road, NE
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT TERMS
The District entered into Settlement Agreements with Waste Management and BFI/Republic. Waste
Management’s agreement expires in 2022; BFI/Republic expires in 2018 but can renewed yearly until
2022.
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1

Parties utilize District stations only for tipping (also known as a transfer)
Parties haul and dispose of an equal amount of trash that is tipped or transferred at District trash
transfer stations

DPW owns and operates two trash transfer stations; Benning Road Trash Transfer Station located at 3200
Benning Road, NE and Ft. Totten Trash Transfer Station located at 4900 John McCormick Drive, NW.
2
The owner of the property began operating a trash transfer station after BFI ceased operations under the
settlement agreement. The District sued the owner Square 3942 LLC. After years of protracted litigation, the
matter was settled, allowing Square 3942 LLC to operate per terms of a separate settlement agreement.
3
Rodgers Brothers primarily processes C&D materials and recyclables.

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Parties pay a tipping fee (also known as a transfer fee) that is adjusted yearly according to the
Consumer Pricing Index (CPI), and this fee is the same fee paid by every user of the transfer station
Parties must transfer all District waste at District trash transfer stations
Parties may transfer some waste collected from other jurisdictions

SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT BENEFITS TO THE DISTRICT
The District receives tangible benefits because of the Settlement Agreements:
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Revenue: The District realizes significant revenue as a result of the Agreements which is not
guaranteed should the agreement(s) be terminated.
Negligible Costs: The settlement agreement parties do not increase the Districts costs; the District
costs are fixed and fluctuate depending on internal pressures (salaries, overtime, etc.).
Quality of Life: By requiring the subject parties to transfer all District waste at District transfer
stations, the Agreements make it untenable for the subject parties to open additional facilities in the
District.
Goodwill: The parties are the major players in an industry with very few players; the District will
have to work with them continually in one form or another.

OTHER POINTS TO CONSIDER
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The agreements do not unfairly favor the Settlement Agreement parties. Every hauler in the District
pays the same tipping fee.
Users of the transfer stations pay fees according to the services they receive.
To ensure fairness, the District will continue to charge users identical fees for the services they
receive and will apply any fee changes uniformly.
If DPW increased the tipping fee for Republic and other haulers, it would lead to favorable
treatment for Waste Management, which will be able to pay the current tipping fee until its
Settlement Agreement expires in 2022.
District businesses and residents not serviced by DPW potentially rely on Settlement Agreement
parties to collect their waste.
The District is exploring increasing its disposal fee which will increase revenue generally.