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DALLAS – Dallas residents took to city council Wednesday to urge the city to rethink their plans to change alley trash pickup.
What we know:
93% of residents who responded to a City of Dallas survey said they’re in favor of keeping alley trash pickup. 60% of those surveyed said they’re willing to pay more to keep the service.
The survey of 43,000 residents had a 23% response rate.
Residents speak out on trash pickup changes
Local perspective:
On Wednesday, many of those residents went to City Hall for a sanitation briefing on the matter.
“When was the last time 93% of anyone in this country agreed on anything?” Jeffrey Helfrich, a resident against the changes, said during the briefing.
Others detailed how the changes would be difficult to implement, especially for older residents.
 “It will be necessary to drag them across the front yard across St. Augustine grass,” Sally Braden said. “I am in my mid-70’s. My husband is 81. We would not be able to drag the bins to the front.”
Director of Sanitation Cliff Gillespie said the safety of trash collectors has to be considered in implementing the changes.
“More troubling are worker injuries where workers have been pinned and run over, near misses for electrocution and severe fire injury,” Gillespie said at the briefing.
Councilmembers respond
What they’re saying:
Some city council members described the change as hard, but necessary.
“I think it will take the city manager to make tough decisions. That’s why, quite frankly, we pay you the big bucks,” councilmember Adam Bazaldua said. “We have 60% of our city paying for a premier service that minority are benefiting from.”
Many of them said they have been frequently hearing from their constituents about the proposed changes.
“I’ve got high voter turnout and high survey turnout too, it’s clear some areas really want it and are willing to pay for it,” councilmember Gay Donnell Willis said.
“Hundreds have shown up and told you no, thousands wrote letters and told you no, 12,000 sent a petition and told you no,” councilmember Phil Roth said.
The backstory:
The City of Dallas announced in July 2025 that over 26,000 residents would change from alley pickup to curbside pickup in January 2026.
Gillespie said the change was prompted by widening trash pickup trucks, which are hazardous in smaller alleys.
The change prompted an outcry from residents, who said it would be hard to place trash bins curbside due to the construction of their homes.
A petition to stop the changes got over 10,000 signatures after the announcement. In October 2025, the city manager announced they would reconsider the changes.
What’s next:
Dallas City Manager Kim Tolbert said during the meeting that the city will report back to the council with a new plan in three to six months.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 4 reporting.