Yesterday I shared an article from the Oakridge Neighborhood Association (District 7) newsletter. It was on the city's budget process. I couldn't resist sharing another on trash!
 
I remember when my son, four years old, asked me, "Where does the trash go?" I happened to be close to the Hinton Landfill so I made a quick right and showed him. Here's your chance for a similar ride.
 

Oakridge News, April 2010 :

We’re talking trash today

By Glenna Brown: Environmental Waste Services
 
Virtually every home in the Oakridge Neighborhood Association participates in an ordinary ritual once a week—a ritual done for the common good of the neighborhood. That ritual? Taking out the trash. Texans generate an astonishing 7.4 lbs. of trash per person, per day! Where does all the trash go? We know it goes away on Tuesday, but where is “away”?
 
Once your trash is picked up by a professional driver in Garland’s Environmental Waste Services (EWS) department, the first stop is the Transfer Station, located at 1426 Commerce St. Once a truck has a full load of garbage, the driver travels to the Transfer Station, weighs the load, dumps it at the Transfer Station, and continues on his route. Each driver has an average of 959 homes on a daily route, collecting three loads per day, or 19.2 tons daily. Collectively, the drivers collect more than 300 tons daily.
 
The trash is then put into larger transport vehicles and hauled to Garland’s landfill, the C.M. Hinton, Jr. Regional Landfill, located at 3175 Elm Grove Rd. in Rowlett. The Landfill is the final resting place for Garland’s household trash.
 
The Hinton Landfill, opened in February, 2002, was designed to have a 50 year life span. It is permitted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to take in municipal and commercial solid waste. The Landfill charges a tipping (disposal) fee based on weight of each vehicle, for using the site and to pay site operating costs. Trash is deposited into designated areas called “cells.” Garland’s Landfill was designed for approximately 20 cells, and trash is currently being deposited into Cell 4. Construction has begun on Cell 5, which is scheduled to open in the summer of 2010. Only bring waste from the household where you reside.
 
Approximately 150 to 160 vehicles, containing more than 1,200 tons of garbage, go across the scales each day. The Landfill is open M–F, 8 am to 5 pm and Saturday, 8 am to 3 pm. Garland residents can drop off normal household waste at the Transfer Station or Landfill for free with proof of residency in the form of a valid Texas driver’s license or current utility bill.
 
The Landfill does not accept, among other items, motor driven vehicles, hospital waste, household chemicals, or tires. For a complete list of unacceptable items, please visit the EWS website at www.garlandenvironmentalwaste.com.
 
Environmental Waste Services also operates the Wood Recycling Facility at the Landfill site to take in clean brush, which is ground into mulch. Garland residents are required to keep yard trimmings and tree limbs separate from other bulky waste items so that the brush crew can transport the clean brush to the grinding facility. Approximately 52 tons of brush are brought to the grind site daily. Mulch is available free to Garland residents at
the Landfill site or at the Recycling Center, located at 1426 Commerce St.
 
Trash deposited at the Landfill will stay there a very long time. Because each day’s trash is compacted with heavy equipment and covered with a 6-inch layer of compacted soil, it is deprived of oxygen and moisture and does not decompose quickly. The long–term solution to adequate landfill space lies not in building a bigger landfill but in our ability to manage our resources, reduce waste disposal and benefit the environment. Stay tuned for
the next installment to learn how you can help extend the life of the Hinton Landfill.
 

 
As she indicates, Ms Brown intends a follow-up article in the next newsletter. I'm counting on Mike Rose, ONA President, to alert me when it is available and I'll post it, too.