Not sure what to do with your old trash cans and recycling bins now that the mobile carts from the Washington, D.C., Department of Public Works have arrived?

On Aug. 31 residents in neighborhoods that have received the new carts and have twice-weekly trash collections, such as Capitol Hill, can set their old containers at the curb for pickup by the DPW. The trash cans and recycling bins should be empty and turned upside down.

If you’re partial to the old containers and would rather use those instead of the new carts, that is not a problem. However, those wishing to return the carts will have to wait a bit longer until the DPW announces a collection date in mid-September.

The green carts for trash work the same as the old containers, and residents are to put bagged trash in the carts as they did before. There is a change with the recycling program, however, which now allows residents to put all recyclable materials directly into the blue cart without having to separate items.

Contest Celebrates 25 Years of C-SPAN Call-Ins

Leading up to the 25th anniversary of the day that C-SPAN aired television’s first-ever regularly scheduled, national viewer call-in program on Oct. 7, 1980, the network of Capitol Hill is sponsoring an essay contest asking viewers to describe why they watch or participate in call-ins on C-SPAN by sharing their favorite call-in moment.

Since the first caller dialed in from Yankton, S.D., C-SPAN has produced 46,000 call-in segments and aired more than a half-million calls. On Oct. 7, C-SPAN will air a special 25-hour anniversary call-in program beginning at 8 p.m. from the National Press Club. The essay contest’s grand-prize winner will co-host a segment of that program and 24 runners-up will also participate.

Entries for the contest are due by Sept. 7 and may not exceed 250 words. Complete entry information and contest rules are available at www.c-span.org.

Help Clean Up D.C.’s Public Schools

Public schools throughout the District of Columbia will get a bit of a makeover just in time for the start of the academic year.

As part of the first D.C. Public Schools School Beautification Day, volunteers will work from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Aug. 27 doing various tasks such as sweeping, weeding, painting and spreading mulch, among others.

The goal is to have at least 10 to 20 volunteers at each school, according to an e-mail about the event. Those interested in participating at a neighborhood school can register online at www.fixourschools.net/ aug27.

— Jennifer Lash and John McArdle