Fort Totten Trash Transfer Station

Extremely efficient - pleasant employees. DC gov't at it's finest.  

Tip: Bring your DC ID. ID check at gate. You will enter in and drive up to the pile and toss.  NB: you may have to wait in line to get in depending on the number of people ahead of you. But it moves quick.

The Fort Totten Trash Transfer Station is the largest dumpsite run by the city. It's located in NE D.C. near Catholic University alongside railroad tracks. The station itself is large and from my opinion, efficiently run. Despite lines, they get you in and out quickly. One of the managers, Jose, was very helpful and friendly.

One thing to note is that they don't take dirt or cement blocks.

They also take and give compost at this location.

Closed day after day with no notification- employees say DC has not paid to remove trash from site! Is it open today.... Fill up your truck with trash & drive there to find out- sound fun?

Let's talk trash...What a dump!  But we are grateful to have it.  You have to be a DC resident to use the facility.  The afternoon hours are 1pm - 5pm during the week.  You will wait in line until an employee motions you to pull ahead.  As soon as a parking space is available, you pull forward.  We were taking several large items and weren't questioned.  The outside area is full of all sorts of trash.  We had to exit a large warehouse that was full of paper trash and other items.  The foul smell was overwhelming.  If we ever return with more items, I would take a dot of vics vapor rub and put it under my nose.  I would also wear a mask while driving through that last building to exit.  The odor was overwhelming.  This is a convenient facility to have.

Not every city will take your trash at a dump for free. It's nice to be able to take my bulk items here as well as materials for shredding during the first Saturday of the month. It's a great resource to have available to all DC residents. No need to weigh trash, just drive in, follow the attendants' directions, and dump away!

I try to go here to shred paper and it's a pain when they ask for DC ID. I don't have a DC drivers license but plenty of paper evidence that I live in DC since I'm trying to destroy these documents! For better customer service: They need to do a better job in using common sense to evaluate if someone lives in DC by looking at the papers someone has to destroy and with a general picture ID. This experience can be worse than a TSA checkpoint.

I'm yelping the dump. Yes. I am yelping the dump. No. I am NOT yelping the dump. Oh yes, I am yelping the dump.

It would have been so corny to start off saying "This place is a dump." But it is. And it is a five star dump thank you. Like I go from dump to dump rating dumps. Actually this is my first dump. And it was not stinky or dirty at all.

In fact, I drove up, unlocked my car doors, some very informative gentlemen took my old 13-inch cathode ray tube television out of my back seat and pointed me in the direction of the next stop: carboard recycling. Yep. I had the box my new flat screen TV came out of in the backseat as well. I pulled up to that station, some other men took the box and waved me on my merry way.

Easy!

Oh, and if you are following me on twitter, which of COURSE you are, you already know that the address #Yelp has for this dump is wrong. It should be 4900 John McCormack Drive, NE Washington, DC 20011 See the picture I took of the sign.

Taking your stuff to the dump between 8 am and 1 pm on the first Saturday of every month is as good as it gets. Oh, if you can't go to the dump on the Sabbath, hit it up on the Thursday before the first Saturday from 1 pm to 5pm. Yep.

I never thought I would be reviewing a dump, but wow what a great experience! Went with a friend to drop off a old box spring and it couldn't have been easier.

There was someone who met us just before to point us in the right direction. When we got in there were more staff members ready to assist.

Dropped off the box spring and we were on our way! There were also plenty of other people dropping off trash.

Best dump ever!

Fabulous fabulous fabulous.

They are open when they say they are, they have a great attitude, and they let me deal with my own trash and recycling on my schedule (this all before my city-distributed bins arrived).

Use GPS to find them.

Fabulous fabulous fabulous.

So...never did I think I'd write a review of a dump...but here I am, doing exactly that.

My husband and I own an old townhouse (well, aren't they all old?) in the city and have done a lot of work done - both professionally and by ourselves. We've tried sneaking bits of construction stuff into our trash cans each week, but needed better disposal. Just a few days ago, we were told about the dump at Fort Totten - a place out by Catholic University that we had no idea existed. It is FREE and as long as you are dumping residential materials (this even includes plaster from our walls and concrete from our back patio), you are legit to dump. The dude at the entrance was so friendly. At about 11 this morning, there are half a dozen other cars there dumping their junk - plenty of room for everyone! Easy, convenient, and free. Go DC!