It was a huge job for the Washington garbage trucks which at the end of the party were stuck hauling away 130 tons of garbage after the inauguration of President Obama. National Park Service workers picked up almost 100 tons on the Mall and near the White House.

Because most trash cans had been removed for security reasons and because of the immense crowd which had been packed together like so many sardines, the mountain of rubbish left behind was of monumentally historic proportions.

“More than any Fourth of July, more than any event we’ve seen,” said Park Service spokesperson William Lyons. City workers took on double and triple shifts to try and remove the mountains of trash, determined to get the garbage out of downtown before the morning rush hour. “People left so many of their personal effects. Blankets, sleeping bags,” Lyons said. “Then the places where the vendors were, some of them just left their tables behind.”