Christmas tree disposal requests spiked last holiday

As the holidays end, many D.C. residents will place their Christmas trees curbside for disposal by the Department of Public Works. But complaints over missed pickups doubled in 2025, suggesting there were hiccups in the service.

In the new year, the department will collect trees placed outside “single-family homes and apartment dwellings” from Jan. 2 to Feb. 28, according to the department website. Households that are skipped over can file service requests through the city’s 311 hotline, or independently deliver their trees to a disposal location.

However, the city's curbside removal system has recently faced difficulties. Last holiday season, D.C. recorded the most service requests due to missed pickups since 2020, according to public 311 records. Tree disposal requests surpassed 2,700, more than doubling those filed one year prior.

The public works department did not return an email request for comment on this story. But a closer look at 311 call times suggests the surge may have been caused by last January’s major snowstorm.

Beginning Jan. 5, between 6 and 12 inches of snow fell across the greater DMV region, according to the National Weather Service. The city paused trash collection — including Christmas tree pickups — until Jan. 7.

“Trash hasn’t been removed either today or yesterday,” one user said on a Reddit forum for D.C. residents last January. “I’m concerned about getting ticketed for leaving my garbage out.”

More than half of the tree pickup calls in 2025 fell during the winter spell. That suggests the disruptions spurred confusion, and led more residents to make pickup arrangements with the city.

Meanwhile, pickup calls also seemed generally more common in parts of the city that experienced greater snowfall. Anacostia saw an inch more snowfall than American University Park, and experienced more than three times the number of tree pickup requests.

The National Weather Service does not currently forecast snowfall in the week ahead, which could bode better for curbisde pickup in the new year.

Regardless, residents can follow the Department of Public Works on Instagram, Facebook and X for updates on Christmas tree collection and other services.

The city will also operate its Christmas tree dropoff locations in the neighborhoods of Edgewood, Observatory Circle and Anacostia. Trees collected by the city through any method will be converted into mulch, according to the public works department.