FAQs

Is your service available to others besides home sellers?
Doesn’t the city clean up litter?
Don’t home-staging companies provide litter pickup service?
What are your service areas?
What if my property is on the corner?
What is done with litter removed from the block?
Is there anything Mid-Atlantic Litter Cleanup Service won’t pick up?
Should all home sellers purchase litter pickup service?
You staged the photos of litter on your website, right?

Q: Is your service available to others besides home sellers?

A: Yes. Mid-Atlantic’s service is available to anyone who wants to maintain a clean, well-ordered appearance of a residential neighborhood or business district. This can include home owners’ associations, shopping centers, and office buildings.  Depending on client needs, we remove litter from both public space and the client’s own property, such as parking lots and private walkways. Contact us at 202-509-3073 or [email protected] if you have questions about our service or want to discuss your specific needs.


Q: Doesn’t the city clean up litter?

A. Not really.   In the District of Columbia, for example, residents of most streets are not required to move their parked cars to accommodate the mechanical street sweepers, so their effectiveness is limited. D.C.’s residential street sweeping does not include the sidewalk or the public space between the curb and sidewalk. And D.C. suspends all residential street sweeping during the winter months (November through February).

Q: Don’t home-staging companies provide litter pickup service?

A: No. Home staging concentrates on the interior appearance of a listed property, such as decluttering, furniture arrangement, repainting, and minor amenity upgrades. It doesn’t address the crucial first impression of a neighborhood formed by prospective buyers before they even walk through the front door. Mid-Atlantic Litter Cleanup Service removes ugly trash from public space within the entire block of the facing street – and keeps the block clean until the property sells.

Q: What are your service areas?

A:  The greater Washington, D.C., area (including Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and Northern Virginia).

 
Q: What if my property is on the corner?

A: For corner properties, we remove litter for at least 40 yards in each of four directions.

Q: What is done with litter removed from the block?

A: Litter is placed in an on-site recycling bin or trash bin. Clients must ensure that both a recycling bin and a trash bin are available and accessible when litter cleanup occurs. See our “Links” page for information on ordering recycling bins and trash bins.

Q: Is there anything Mid-Atlantic Litter Cleanup Service won’t pick up?

A: Our cleanup service is limited to ordinary sidewalk and curbside litter – most commonly snack-food packaging, cans, bottles, and smoking materials. We do not pick up vegetation; construction-and-demolition debris; hazardous waste; rocks, sand, gravel or salt; dead animals; debris from illegal dumping; or items left in public space as a result of evictions. In such situations, we notify government agencies or refer clients to other vendors to resolve the problem as soon as possible.

Q: Should all home sellers purchase litter pickup service?

A: Some blocks are relatively free of litter and litter pickup service is not necessary. Where litter is an eyesore, however, regular litter pickup can play a cost-effective role in making your property competitive in the real-estate market.

Q: You staged the photos of litter on your website, right?

A: No. All the photos show litter as it was actually found in front of homes listed for sale. The photos were altered, however, to obscure the identifying information on the real-estate brokerage signs.