The luxury of Dallas’ bulk and brush collection practices will come to an end soon.
Currently the city’s sanitation department will pick up almost anything residents put on the curb during monthly combined bulk and brush days.
Dallas City Council next month will consider a new system that would cut bulky trash pick up to four times per year but also result in citywide brush and yard waste recycling.
Leaves and yard clippings, picked up weekly, would have to be bagged in paper or other compostable yard bags, no plastic.
City crews often have trouble finishing all of the current bulky trash routes on time. Some neighborhoods utilize the service heavily and others seldom use it, but trucks still have to make the rounds to every street once a month, a waste of fuel and emissions.
The city also plans to improve its on-demand bulky trash pickup service, where residents can get estimates by phone or online and be charged on their water bills. Besides that, more bulky trash drop-off centers could be added.
Changing the system could eventually save the city as much as $1 million a year, but more important, it will keep tons of trash out of the city-owned McCommas Bluff Landfill.
As much as 90,000 tons of brush and yard waste could be diverted from the landfill every year. Those materials could be turned into mulch that’s given away to Dallas residents. That’s no small improvement considering Dallas is getting hotter faster than other cities.
The full City Council will consider the plan on June 6.
