DALLAS — The City of Dallas' sanitation department has been in the process of implementing new routes and a new collection schedule since the first week of December, but the adjustment hasn't been a smooth process.
The city wrote in a statement that container collection has been overlooked in some areas by drivers with limited familiarity of the new service areas, causing more complaints than usual from residents not having their trash collected.
"We apologize for the inconvenience to our customers and appreciate their understanding as we work to improve the efficiency of our services going forward," the city stated.
The new routes were implemented on Dec. 5 to provide collection services over five days, from Monday through Friday, rather than the previous four-day schedule, which the city says allows for more efficient use of city equipment, shortens the workday for sanitation crews, and allows for earlier daily equipment maintenance.
Crews now have about 100,000 points-of-service each day for collection of recycling and garbage, about 20,000 fewer than the previous route model.
The city also said managers and supervisors are monitoring and adjusting routes as needed to ensure timely service going forward.
Sanitation fleet availability is a continuing issue, the city stated, as heavy equipment parts and labors are a challenge for both the city and its outside vendors.
"Sanitation makes every effort to limit collection delays to recycling, and for no more than 24 hours," the city stated. "Unfortunately, limited equipment availability, high set out volumes following the holidays, and the lingering impacts of the severe cold weather event on temporary staffing turnout compounded collection delays in some areas last week."
