sanitation department
5
2.8
- noun
- /ˌsænɪˈteɪʃən dɪˈpɑrtmənt/
- Formal
:
departamento de saneamiento
- The city sanitation department organizes regular clean-up events to maintain community cleanliness.
Examples
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In 2009, the sanitation department issued 280 summonses for violators and impounded 136 vehicles.
Blog text (8) -
In a routine check by the sanitation department, they found one bedbug.
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Well, he had a great job at the Sanitation Department.
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Workers from the Sanitation Department were a constant sight as they helped residents clean up debris.
Blog text (25) -
We understand your concern and will escalate this to our sanitation department for appropriate action.
Blog text (4) -
Some guy from the sanitation department noticed it, called out a special crew, and they cleaned it all up overnight.
Academic text (1998) -
Instead of sending debris upstate via barge, the sanitation department has been moving it to landfills out of state, including one in Pennsylvania.
Blog text (24) -
Once the debris is gone, Hickey said the sanitation department will bring in street sweepers and other machines to scrub away the last traces of the dump.
Blog text (24) -
The sanitation department is responsible for collecting garbage and ensuring public spaces are clean.
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Residents can report issues like littering to the sanitation department for prompt action.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the department responsible for cleanliness and waste disposal' is directly and transparently composed from 'sanitation' (cleanliness, preventing disease) + 'department' (an organizational unit). This noun-noun combination follows a regular, cross-linguistically common compounding pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Sanitation department comes from the simple image of a city team cleaning the streets: workers collecting trash, emptying bins and washing public areas. Here sanitation means keeping things clean and department means a city team, so the phrase refers to the local group in charge of 'garbage' and public cleanliness.