You’ve heard of smart TVs, fridges and vacuum cleaners, now get ready for smart trash cans.

Though you may not have noticed them, a set of high-tech garbage bins has appeared in downtown Dallas through a pilot program carried out by the city, Downtown Dallas Inc. and the Child Poverty Action Lab.

The pilot is funded by CPAL and will run for a year, said Mike Hunter, chief of Parks and Public Space at DDI. The goal is to assess the cans’ effectiveness for improving sanitation efficiency. Full steam ahead to finding out, we say.

Three cans are placed in the area southeast of City Hall and another three are at sites around Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s West End station and West Transfer Center, city documents show. Those are high foot-traffic areas and should serve as great test locations.

But how could a trash can make sanitation more efficient, you ask? These monitor their own trash level and keep sanitation workers informed about when they need to be emptied.

In the core of downtown, there are sanitation workers who go from can to can by foot, checking on them during the day, Hunter said. The Central Business District alone is home to more than DDI 50 cans, he said.

The new cans are likely to help most in the further-flung areas of downtown, where supervisors currently have to drive trucks to each bin to check on them, Hunter explained. The smart bins notify DDI by text or email when they are 80% full, hopefully making it possible to avoid unnecessary trips, saving valuable time that can be used for other sanitation efforts, he said.

There are other desirable features too. The tank-like cans have a fully enclosed design, preventing wind and weather from sending rubbish flying, and keeping rummaging hands and paws out of the bins.

DDI’s sanitation teams already do a good job keeping downtown’s street trash under control. Just spend a few minutes in the Central Business District and you’ll see them hard at work. If these swanky cans can make their jobs easier, the pilot goes well and the cost makes sense, we say go for it.

Surely it’s wishful thinking, but could we be forgiven for hoping just a little bit that residents and visitors will be more likely to throw their own trash into a fancy bin? DDI does great work, but we can all do better cleaning up after ourselves.

DALLAS – Dallas ICE and the Department of Homeland Security returned 122 Chinese citizens to their home country on June 3 after they were found to be in the United States illegally, federal authorities said.

Convicted Criminals on Flight

Big picture view:

The group, which included 96 men and 26 women ranging in age from 19 to 68, was flown from various U.S. detention facilities to the People’s Republic of China, according to a news release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Many of those removed had been convicted of serious crimes, the agency stated.

Among the individuals removed were those convicted of murder, rape, human smuggling, and drug trafficking.

Notable cases highlighted by ICE include a 47-year-old man convicted of murder, a 27-year-old man convicted of rape, a 49-year-old man with a drug-trafficking conviction, a 55-year-old man convicted of human smuggling, and a 50-year-old woman with a bribery conviction.

‘Enhances Public Safety’

What they’re saying:

“Through our interagency partnerships and coordination across ICE field offices, we have successfully removed these individuals, many who were convicted of egregious crimes,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas acting Field Office Director Josh Johnson. “This operation not only enhances the public safety of our communities across the U.S. but also strengthens national security. “Our colleagues at ICE come to work every day to identify, arrest and remove illegal aliens who attempt to circumvent our nation’s immigrations laws.”

What you can do:

Members of the public with information can report crimes or suspicious activity by dialing the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing ICE’s online tip form.