Dallas has a recycling program that’s been operative since 2017, but some longtime homeowners were recently audited for the first time and are confused and frustrated by what they perceive to be a lack of communication.
Through the “Take a Peek” program, under the umbrella of Dallas’ Zero Waste campaign, sanitation workers check residential recycle bins to make sure they contain appropriate recyclable items. If they don’t, the homeowners get three rounds of communication and the bin may be removed. To have a “contaminated bin” returned, some homeowners have been told they’ll have to take an online training course.
“I understand the need for education and compliance … but it does seem that the City hasn’t thought this through completely,” one resident wrote on the neighborhood social media app Nextdoor. “The City must be getting all kinds of calls and emails. What a waste of admin time, not to mention our own.”
A Nextdoor post by a longtime recycler and Hollywood Heights homeowner about the removal of her recycling bin generated more than 8,000 views and dozens of comments last week.
The homeowner’s recycling bin was tagged because a guest mistakenly put a bag of trash in it. The tag advised that a warning letter had been issued and the bin would be removed.
The homeowner removed the trash from the recycling bin and called 311 to request a pickup.
“I did not receive a letter,” the homeowner said. “The next thing I know my bin was removed.”
No one knocked on the door and talked to the homeowner. When she called the Dallas Sanitation Department, a representative told her she’d have to take the online training course. She made some more calls and was told the City of Dallas is “getting the online training ready.”
“I requested she guarantee my bin will be sent back,” the homeowner said of her conversation with a Sanitation representative. “She said she cannot guarantee that and hung up.”
Danielle McClelland, division manager for Zero Waste, said her department can’t take responsibility for undelivered postal mail, but they do provide multiple methods of communication.
“If they say they didn’t get a letter, they would have gotten a tag,” she said. “They’ve gotten some communication.”
Limited Information About ‘Take a Peek’
There’s limited online information on the city’s “Take a Peek” program, mentioned by name on the tags left on residential recycling bins.
We’re not the only ones who had trouble finding out more about it.
Results from a survey conducted in mid-2022 showed at least one resident answering they’d “never heard of ‘take-a-peek; not sure what it does or how it connects to the Zero Waste plan.”
An email to [email protected] — the contact information left on tags at residents’ homes — did not generate a reply within a five-day period, which included a weekend.
Callers to the Dallas Sanitation Department are redirected to 311, where they are immediately asked by an automated recording if they want to make a water payment or report coyote activity.
We spoke to a 311 agent, who said she couldn’t direct us to the online training information because she thinks “the video link has to be given directly to the homeowner whose recycling bin has been removed.” She then routed us back to the Sanitation Department.
Questions And Answers About ‘Take a Peek’
We issued seven questions by email to numerous city officials and did not receive any responses that included answers to the questions. Officials directed us to Sarah Lopez, Zero Waste recycling coordinator.
Lopez, who oversees the Take a Peek program, did not immediately reply to emails and her voicemailbox was full on Friday. McClelland got back to us and cleared up a few things.
About 572 households in the Hollywood-Santa Monica area of East Dallas were included in the recent audit review route.
“We identify which households we’re going to review. We mail them a letter. We do three rounds of reviews. We do visual inspections,” McClelland said. “If there’s something in the cart that should not be there, we leave a note on their cart, gate, or front door knob if we have access to that. We usually come back the following week. We leave a note that says, ‘Great job,’ if they’re doing it correctly. If they have damaged carts, we let them know how to get a replacement.”
Sounds simple enough, right?
“The purpose of the Take a Peek curbside audit program is to reduce contamination,” McClelland said, adding that Styrofoam, paper towels, food, and plastic bags are the most common offenders.
And about that online training video …
An in-person class was offered before the COVID-19 pandemic and was later changed to an online course. The link is not available to the general public through a Google search, and we can’t post it here. It is, in fact, sent to those who have repeatedly put contaminated items in a residential recycling bin. McClelland said she’s never had someone refuse to participate in the training and expect their bin to be returned.
“Dallas’ recycling program is voluntary,” McClelland said “If they can’t [watch the video] we’ll send them the slide deck, with the assumption they’re going to look at it. We are not the recycling police. Our goal and our job is to help people learn to recycle correctly. We are accommodating to that extent, but education is key. If a person isn’t willing to receive that education, then it kind of defeats the whole purpose of the reviews.”
