Dallas, TX

Dallas tries to improve trash collection, again

Published

2 years ago

January 26, 2024

Dallas tries to improve trash collection, again

Dallas is gearing up to swap its trash collection route maps — now paper — with digital guidance. There’s no reason it can’t work. But route changes ended in disaster last year, and we hope this won’t be a repeat.

Trash collection is one of the most bread and butter tasks any city is responsible for. Residents care a great deal about it and notice immediately when there are issues.

As the city begins using this new service, it’s critical to keep that in mind.

On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council approved a roughly $840,000, three-year contract with Rubicon Global, a company that produces software-based waste, recycling and fleet operations products, its website says. Trash collectors will start using it as soon as March, city staff said.

Rolling out any new software generally comes with hiccups, but city staff said collection routes will probably be adjusted only minimally for efficiency, and residents’ collection days will go unaltered. Hopefully that mitigates the risks.

The idea is to provide real-time, turn-by-turn guidance and other features like route adjustment if stops are missed or a truck breaks down, as well as giving collectors the ability to record and photograph service exceptions for prohibited items or improper cart placement.

The latter of those features may help amp up Dallas’ “Take a Peek” program, which allows the city to remove recycling containers if residents continuously include prohibited items.

There is the possibility of expanding the software’s use in the future to cart delivery and repairs and for brush and bulky item collections, city staff said.

Trash collection shouldn’t be meddled with lightly, though. In 2022 and early 2023, the sanitation department redrew the city’s routes and changed from a four-day to a five-day collection schedule.

Chaos ensued.

At least 56% of customers had to put their trash out on new days. Drivers’ unfamiliarity with the new routes led to missed pickups, and 311 complaints about sanitation grew fourfold, our newsroom reported.

The incident was as bad for city sanitation workers as it was for residents. Some sanitation employees ended up working as many as 13 hours a day, and the new system was implemented without enough input from the workers who would be making it possible.

City staff said feedback on the new software from sanitation workers was positive. The city did a 90-day pilot program last year to test it. We asked city staff if any sanitation workers could comment about their experience with the new service, but our request was declined.

Trash collection is an often-thankless job, but it’s one that our sanitation workers carry out with admirable dedication. If this new software can help them do that without service delays for residents, we’re all for it.

We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com

Source link

Related Topics:dallas Editorials Featured

Click to comment

Dallas, TX

McAllen Welcomes Texas Hockey | Dallas Stars

Published

7 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Press Room

McAllen Welcomes Texas Hockey | Dallas Stars

DallasStars.com is the official Web site of DSE Hockey Club, L.P. The Dallas Stars primary logo is a registered trademark and the Stars name and secondary logos are trademarks of the Dallas Stars. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup and NHL Conference logos are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks as well as all other proprietary materials depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective NHL teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. Copyright © 1999-2026 DSE Hockey Club, L.P. and the National Hockey League. All Rights Reserved.

Source link

Dallas, TX

At least three dead after fire destroys Dallas apartment complex

Published

19 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Press Room

At least three dead after fire destroys Dallas apartment complex

NewsFeed

A large fire destroyed an apartment complex in Dallas after crews responded to reports of a gas leak. Authorities say at least three people, including a child, were killed. Other residents are unaccounted for.

Published On 29 May 2026

Source link

Dallas, TX

North Texas doughnut shops named among best in U.S.

Published

1 day ago

May 28, 2026

Press Room

North Texas doughnut shops named among best in U.S.

Jarams will always be top in our hearts.

Lauren Drewes Daniels

Arguments about the best doughnut shops can get heated. We have our own personal top 10 favorites. And we have issues with DoorDash’s list below. So, let’s dive right into this sweet, round confection with a hole in the middle.

For National Donut Day, which is Friday, June 5, for all those who celebrate, DoorDash has a roundup of the top 100-rated small and medium-sized donut shops on DoorDash. The list includes local businesses across 86 cities and 25 states.

To be considered for the Donut Day Dozens list, the bakery must be small or medium-sized, have fewer than 10 stores, and have at least 1,000 reviews. The shops with the highest average consumer ratings from April 2025 to April 2026 were chosen.

Of the 21 donut shops chosen across Texas, 13 are located in North Texas.

North Texas bakeries named best doughnuts

Morning Donuts – Dallas, TX
Baker’s Dozen Donuts – Cross Roads, TX
Busy B’s Bakery – North Richland Hills, TX
Donut House Plano – Plano, TX
Donut King #3 – Fort Worth, TX
Eagle Donuts – Crowley, TX
Earnest Donuts – Lewisville, TX
Four Seasons Donuts – Irving, TX
Jin’s Donuts – Farmers Branch, TX
Master Donut – The Colony, TX
Stacy Donuts – McKinney, TX
TWISTY DONUTS MANSFIELD – Mansfield, TX

A few misses

There are some obvious big misses here. Like La Rue in Trinity Groves, which apparently was left off because it has fewer than 1,000 reviews. We awarded this chef-driven shop Best Doughnuts in 2025 for pushing out top-tier confections every morning and a seasonal menu that will both win you over and break your heart. They’re also using only beef tallow in the fryers now.

And no Jarams? The shop on Preston Road has a 4.7 average rating on DoorDash, and it appears 4.8 was the cutoff. The family-owned Jarams is one of the best shops in Dallas.

As is Detour Donuts in Frisco. This is run by an ambitious young baker who draws long lines for themed doughnuts and a rotating menu.

Beyond North Texas …

The rest of the awarded donut shops were mostly located in Houston, with a sprinkle in San Antonio. Shops were listed in alphabetical order, and not with any sort of numbered ranking system.