SOMETIMES, THE JOB FINDS YOU.

in the United States. Even things that bulk trash technically is not supposed to take — parts of fences and construction materials, for example — are collected in the interest of neighborhood cleanliness.

Our bulk trash practices also contribute to our recycling woes. That’s because bulk and brush are picked up together.

“We think we have clean brush, but then there’s a TV mixed in,” Myers says.

Last year, the department picked up about 170,000 tons of bulk and brush, about half of that is brush, and virtually none of it is recycled because of contamination.

If more had been recycled, the city could either sell the resulting mulch and compost or offer it free to Dallas residents, Myers says.

City Council could consider changing the bulk and brush pick-up later this year, and there are a couple of suggestions.

They could keep it virtually the same but push for residents to separate bulk and brush. Or they could pick up bulk and brush on alternative months.

If the bulk/brush problem is solved, the city could increase its diversion rate by up to 10 percent, Myers says.

Electronics: A landfill’s deadliest enemy?

Electronics take up the least amount of space in the 996-acre McCommas Bluff Landfill, yet they are the most detrimental to the environment.

These devices contain hazardous mate-

Recyclable rials such as lead and mercury. When used technology is tossed in the landfill, the toxic chemicals can leak into the soil and seep into the water supply, Myers says.

The city manages four drop-off e-cycling locations to deter residents from dumping electronics in the trash or on the curb. Neighbors can leave items ranging from batteries to flat screen TVs at Bachman, Fair Oaks and Oak Cliff transfer stations, as well as McCommas Bluff’s Customer Convenience Recycling Center.

In 2016, the city collected 527,118 pounds of used devices.

Some residents aren’t aware of Dallas’ e-cycling program, Myers says, so the city plans to launch a media campaign this summer. It also is installing secure storage pods at each location to quell residents’ fears about dropping off cellphones and laptops with personal information.

But unpredictable changes in cost may be detrimental to Dallas’ efforts.

Electronic recycling companies struggle to earn a profit because the value of the materials they collect have decreased.

“When a recycler can’t sell materials, then they start to charge whoever is dropping it off money,” Myers says.

It’s a conundrum for many municipalities, including Dallas, which could pay anywhere between $31,000 to $148,000 a year for e-cycling companies to collect and recycle items. Four months ago, the city contracted with the company URT Solutions after ECS Recycling estimated its services would exceed $100,000.

“It is utilized, but if the cost of the program goes up, we may have to look at transitioning to another program,” Myers says.

There are other options, but they’re not as convenient as a drop-off location. The State of Texas now requires manufacturers to take back TVs and computers, and many businesses like Best Buy also have their own trade-in programs.

A wasteful problem

In a world where one out of every nine people is starving, according to The Hunger Project, it’s distressing to think that here in America 40 percent of our food ends up in the garbage. The City of Dallas estimates that 30 percent of all materials in its landfill are compostable material, and it’s working to do something about that.

“Last month, we attended a U.S. Composting Council conference and have returned with a few new ideas that we’ll be working on,” Myers says.

He would love to offer citywide compositing, but it is cost prohibitive and, unlike recycling, doesn’t have much potential to make money, allowing the program to cover its own expenses.

“We’ve evaluated organics recycling at Dallas ISD, sending food waste to the water department’s anaerobic digester and other programs, but we haven’t found a path forward,” Myers says.

The department does encourage res-