Recently, the State of Texas passed S.B. 1340, which established a goal of 40 percent reduction of waste going to the landfill by 1994. As with all such mandates, the City must comply.
Currently, paper and yard wastes together constitute 56 percent of the total waste being landfilled. The City is consuming an average of 20 acres of landfill space per year and spending $9.34 million per year on landfill and transfer station operations. If the City reduces the amount of waste being landfilled by 40 percent during the next 20 years, we can add 6.8 years of life to the McCommas Bluff landfill, as well as help avoid the disposal of reusable materials; save energy, preserve natural resources; delay acquiring new, expensive landfill space; and allow the City to comply with State and Federal mandates.
According to a study done in 1992, only 7.2 percent of waste in Dallas currently is being recycled. During the past several months, the Council’s Ad Hoc Recycling Committee, on which I serve, studied what other cities are doing; took comments and suggestions from interested citizens, groups and organizations; and came up with a set of recommended programs designed to meet the state’s goal while phasing in a residential recycling program.
Phasing in these programs allows for an orderly plan that can be adjusted as additional markets develop for recyclable materials. It also allows the City and citizens to prepare for changes in the collection and disposal of solid waste and is the least expensive method.
Included in these recommendations is a proposal to phase in, over a five-year period, an automated, once-a-week solid waste collection system. Coupled with once-a-week recycling, this is the most cost-effective method to provide collection of both garbage and recyclable materials.
Following are the Recycling Program Objectives and target dates for implementation:
Fiscal Year 1992-93 – Ban grass clipping collection by City crews, April; wood chipping/grass drop-off at Bachman, April-July; newspaper-only collection (22 sites), June; conduct 2,000-home automated pilot program, June.
Fiscal Year 1993-94 – Ban leaves from landfill and provide special collections, November; mandate newspaper collection at apartments, April 1994; expand office paper recycling to all buildings, April 1994; require Christmas tree merchants to provide information concerning composting sites, November 1993; develop solid waste management plan/volume-based fee study, April 1994; phase-in District 3 with automated garbage collection once-a-week, with once-a-week recycling, April 1994.
Fiscal Year 1994-95 – Expand yard waste composting by banning yard waste from landfill, October 1994; phase-in newspaper, aluminum, tin can, and plastics collection to single-family dwellings, April 1994; expand residential collection to include cardboard, filestock and magazines, October 1994; implement volume-based fee system, October 1994.
I will be seeking your suggestions and comments on the proposed recycling program at a joint Town Hall meeting with Councilman Glenn Box Tuesday, April 13, at 7 p.m. at the Lake Highlands Junior High School auditorium, Kingsley at Ferndale. Please come, and bring your neighbors.
The Council is scheduled to vote on the recycling program April 14.
