According to the city of Dallas, Dallas residents throw away over 86,000 tons of recyclable materials each year. That’s £ 172 million.
If these items were recycled, nearly 50 million gallons of oil and over a million cubic feet of landfill space could be saved. Of the 86,000 tons, almost half of these recyclables are paper. This amount, if properly recycled, could have saved 1 million trees, the city calculates.
This wasted potential is the product of a system that has failed humans and the environment. I’ve always been proud of my city, but as I get older I become more aware of the lack of respect we have for the environment.
Most schools provide little to no education about the importance and impact of recycling. As a result, widespread misconceptions about what can and cannot be recycled lead to the city’s estimates that thousands of pounds of air pollutants are released into our atmosphere.
The earth suffers from our neglect, but by working with the city government to educate ourselves and others about the importance and practice of recycling, we can do our part to protect our homes.
Dallas has been slow to take on recycling orders. Until last year there was no legal requirement to recycle in residential complexes, and companies are still not required to have programs in place.
The Dallas Zero Waste Plan, launched in 2013, aimed to “identify the policies, programs and infrastructure required to manage solid waste and recyclable materials in the city over the next 50 years”, according to a report from the plumbing division of Dallas City Hall. At that time, Dallas was setting out to create funding plans and timelines to meet its recycling goals, including increasing the percentage of waste that is being diverted from landfills to recycling from 20% to 40%.
Now, seven years later, Dallas is well behind its 2020 redirect rate target. Until last year the city hadn’t improved at all and was still only diverting 20% of its waste. That’s lower than the US recycling rate of 32%, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The city attributes the delay in part to an inability to control the flow of waste. The 2013 Zero Waste Plan relied heavily on the city to control the flow of waste from collection to transportation to a designated landfill. A lawsuit from private waste contractors and landfills halted the waste control plan.
Spokeswoman Danielle McClelland said much of the waste generated and diverted was not reported because of private waste contractors and a lack of cooperation between businesses and local residents. She said a better future is only possible with the full support and cooperation of all.
The Hockaday School has been my educational home for 13 years, but it has not fulfilled its role model function either. When asked about recycling, the school principals did not provide any improvement plans, but expressed their willingness to consider ideas.
My city, our city, has failed badly. Recycling not only helps the environment, it also helps people. It can save money and provide needed materials.
After all, it’s our job to keep our homes safe, so take this information and get started with your community. Push for more education and recycling initiatives and gradually make this world a better place.
Grace Emanuelson is a junior at Hockaday School. She wrote this column for the Dallas Morning News.
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