Recycling Dallas

In the northern part of town whence I type this, it was once the practice of twice-weekly trash pickup and biweekly recycling. That amounted to 10 big trucks rolling down the alley every four weeks. Then this area became a test section of once-a-week trash pickup and once-a-week recycling, while the rest of Dallas remained the same. This amounted to 8 big trucks rolling down the alley every four weeks.

Homes in this pilot area now recycle 51 pounds of material each month vs 21 pounds in other parts of the city. These homes sent an average of 143 pounds of garbage to the landfill each month vs 173 pounds in other areas. There is some revenue from recycling and significant savings in manpower and vehicle costs. A win-win situation.

This sanitation service is expected to be implemented in the entire North Dallas area effective February and eventually the entire city. But Council member Carolyn Davis, whose district includes South Dallas, says, "Why would we want once-a-week trash pickup? ...if you have a huge barbeque, it fills up these containers" and trash overflows into the streets. She and several other southern-sector (majority-minority) Council members claim their districts need more time and education to be ready for this change. If I was one of their constituents, did they just say I was stupid?