In the new year, around 26,000 Dallasites will have to haul their trash through the kitchen and straight to the curb, or take the long way around the yard as the city phases out alleyway trash services for certain areas. The changes, which will affect residents whose trash is currently collected from alleys less than 9 feet wide, have spurred a petition asking city officials to reject the proposal.
Unfortunately, there is no proposal to reject because the all-powerful authority on trash collection, Cliff Gillespie, Dallas’ director of sanitation services, does not need City Council approval to roll out the changes.
Gillespie has been in the position for two years and has been pushing for the end of alleyway trash services for most of his tenure. In June 2024, the sanitation department briefed the council on ending all alleyway trash services across the city. After community and council disapproval, the plan was scrapped. But Gillespie has pulled it from the bin and is set to end alleyway trash collection for 19,000 homes starting Jan. 19, 2026, and then another 7,000 on July 20, 2026…