On Monday, the Dallas City Council Quality of Life Committee heard a list of options that could reduce piles of trash that sit in neighborhoods and reduce the loads city workers must haul away now.
“It’s overtime related, it’s crew related, it’s equipment saving, fuel savings, it could be all those kinds of things. It could be some significant numbers,” Dallas Sanitation Director Kelly High said.
“The cost savings is what's going to drive people’s choices about this. They’re paying for it out of their pockets,” said Councilman Philip Kingston. “I find everything you’re suggesting to be worthy of discussion, so get me numbers on everything you’ve suggested.”
Dallas collected around 176,000 tons of bulk trash last year, far more than the 160,000 tons collected by much larger Houston.
Dallas collects just about anything residents leave at the curb for monthly bulk trash collection.
Appliances and yard waste can be mixed together in Dallas, while some other cities require separate collection days to support recycling on metals and plant material. And some other cities limit the quantity of trash left at the curb.
Construction debris is against current collection rules, but Councilmember Sandy Greyson said the city encourages those large piles by collecting the debris.
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“We say they’re not supposed to do that, but we pick it up,” she said. “And all the fences that get pulled down, those contractors are supposed to haul those away, but they don’t. They pile them in front of people’s houses and we pick them up. So we’re kind of encouraging the behavior we say is prohibited.”
Tougher enforcement could be included in any changes. Officials promise to reduce Dallas sanitation fees if service is reduced.
Also Monday, the same committee began discussing tougher rules about Dallas fences.
Currently the city has no limit on what kind of material residents must use and only a few limits on what is not allowed. Old metal sheeting and storage container material is found as fence material in some places.
“I think there is a problem with some of these materials some folks are throwing out there. They’re an eyesore,” Greyson said.
Kingston disagreed.
“I think we’d be making a fantastic error to further regulate in this field. We’ve got so many other things to concentrate on in Dallas. Let’s just let this one be,” he said.
Pleasant Grove Councilman Rickey Callahan pushed for the fence rules. He was absent at Monday’s meeting and Greyson delayed discussion of the fence rules until a future Quality of Life meeting when Callahan can be present.
