The Fort Worth City Council has approved additional waste collection fees slated to go into effect on January 1.
Council members adopted a new ordinance that changes service fees for overloaded trash carts and loose bags during its September 19 meeting, per the city’s website. This ordinance effectively raises waste collection rates for pickups that are out of compliance.
“Residents are responsible for ensuring all items fit into the bins and that lids are properly and securely closed to allow for SMART Truck Technology use,” reads the city’s website. “Any garbage or recycling materials that do not allow for the lids to be properly and securely closed are considered ‘overloaded/overfilled’ while any and additional bags set outside of or next to the carts are considered ‘loose bags.’ Both instances are not allowed in the program and are considered ‘non-compliant.'”
Rates for overloaded carts will be $6 per cart, and loose bag collection rates will be $3 per bag.
The new year is only days away, and many city offices and departments are expected to be closed over the holiday. The City of Fort Worth announced earlier this month that there will be no solid waste collection on January 1, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The City of Dallas is also attempting to better clean up its streets, launching a code compliance dashboard that tracks trash, litter, and vegetation violations. The City has already logged tens of thousands of code compliance violations related to litter and junk in 2023, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Such violations come at a time when residents feel City officials have been doing a poor job keeping Dallas’ streets clean, according to polling conducted by The Dallas Express. Residents said they were upset with “the amount of trash, litter, or junk” they have seen in their communities and “elsewhere in the City of Dallas.”
