A deal has been reached with several pizza shops in the Adams Morgan neighborhood in D.C. aimed at keeping sidewalk trash manageable. The restaurants have agreed to cut down on the use of big pizza boxes on weekends after 10 p.m.
“We have had a resurgence of nightlife in Adams Morgan, which is terrific, everybody’s really enthusiastic about that… the amount of trash… being generated again was overwhelming the municipal trash cans that are out on the street,” said Kristen Barden, executive director of the Adams Morgan Partnership Business Improvement District.
Jumbo pizza boxes that don’t fit in the trash containers have been troublesome for the neighborhood. Some nights, the boxes are piled high on the sidewalks, creating a messy site and the potential of setting back the city’s battle against rats. Keeping trash in tightly sealed containers is an essential element of D.C.’s ongoing efforts to limit rats.
The BID approached the pizza shops that stay open late on weekends and asked them to substitute the big pizza boxes for paper plates when they can.
“If you’re going to eat it right away, paper plate is probably sufficient. Paper plates fit in trash cans much easier than boxes,” Barden said.
“They were enthusiastic about doing this with us…pizza boxes are more expensive than paper plates,” she said.
Now, the general rule is that takeout pizza, purchased after 10 p.m. on weekends and carried out of the neighborhood, will go in the boxes. Pizza eaten outside of the shops will be served on paper plates.
The change went into effect this past weekend, and the BID cleaning team reported far fewer empty pizza boxes on the streets Monday morning.
