GOAL 4:
DALLAS IS A
ZERO WASTE COMMUNITY.
Targets
DIVERT 35% AND 80% OF ORGANIC WASTE BY 2030 AND 2050, RESPECTIVELY.
DIVERT 60% AND 90% OF PAPER WASTE BY 2030 AND 2050, RESPECTIVELY.
35% AND 45% REDUCTION IN WASTE DIVERTED FROM LANDFILLS IN 2030 AND 2040, RESPECTIVELY.
Reducing the amount of waste sent to the landfills can provide a variety of environmental benefits, including GHG emissions reductions. Solutions in this sector draw on the principles of the 5Rs of Zero Waste: refuse, reduce, reuse (including repair!), recycle, and rot. Refusing and reducing means saying no to disposables, avoiding single use plastics, and packaging, and saying no to participating in unsustainable practices. Reusing and repairing mean using goods more than once, buying secondhand, reupholstering your sofa. Materials should only be recyled or composted (rotted) as the final steps in the hierarchy. Actions in this sector also identify opprotunities for GHG emission reductions through waste collection operations and continuing to capture landfill-generated gas.
Resources for Residents
Dallas Resident's Guide to Recycling
Check out the Dallas Resident’s Guide to Recycling to make sure you are recycling properly. Did you know not to bag your recyclables, or that just a quick rinse is enough to wash your recyclable containers?
Dallas Electronic Recycling Program
Find out where you can recycle e-waste, such as computers, TVs, printers, microwaves, and other appliances at the Dallas Electronic Recycling program.
Find a Recycle Center
Enter your zip code into the Find a Recycle Center tool to find a location to recycle your plastic bags. First, re-use them as much as possible.
Resources for Businesses
Dallas Green Business Certification Program
Become Green Business Certified to promote your eco-friendly business practices and receive recognition for your efforts to reduce waste and increase recycling.
Adopt-a-Park Program
Volunteer for the Adopt-a-Park Program that promotes partnerships between community members, groups, and businesses to assist the Parks staff with routine maintenance, clean up, and beautification of parks, open spaces, and trails, creating a beautiful, clean environment for all to enjoy.
FOCUS ON: SOLID WASTE
Multifamily Recycling Ordinance
Dallas' Multifamily Recycling Ordinance went into effect January 1, 2020, for all multi-family properties with 8 or more units. This means residents living in those properties should be able to recycle where they live! If you do not know where the recycling containers are located on your property, contact your property manager. Click here to learn more about the ordinance and its requirements for property owners and recycling haulers.
Green Procurement
On May 26, 2021, Dallas City Council approved a resolution establishing a sustainable procurement policy and directing the City Manager to form an interdepartmental working group to recommend procurement practices consistent with the City's economic, social, and environmental goals.
Update to Local Solid Waste Management Plan
The City of Dallas is updating its Local Solid Waste Management Plan (LSWMP) to support the City’s environmental and sustainability goals. The LSWMP was adopted by the Dallas City Council in February 2013 to identify the policies, programs and infrastructure that will be needed to manage solid waste and recyclable materials generated in the City over the next 50 years. Many changes have occurred since the plan was adopted and the LSWMP Update will reassess the City’s needs and provide short-term and long-term strategies to meet the City’s goals.
Trash to Energy
As organic materials break down in the landfill, they release methane. The city-owned McCommas Bluff Landfill has a landfill gas collection system that collects this methane gas and converts it to energy in a landfill gas-to-energy system. This reduces the amount of GHG emissions that enter the atmosphere and creates a renewable energy source.