Having trouble with the City’s “Don’t Bag It” program? Here’s the latest on the grass clippings issue. If you still haven’t created a compost bin, look into a new program with an environmental plus – the Diversion Plan for Pallets. A recent newspaper article reported that “thousands of pallets are dumped into landfills daily” by commercial businesses. This program rescues pallets from life at the landfill and turns them into compost bins. It’s spearheaded by the 3-Rs Network – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, a volunteer task force sponsored by the Texas Committee on Natural Resources. This cooperative effort involves the Dallas Youth Services Corps (a non-profit community service and job training organization).

There are good reasons to check out the Diversion Plan for Pallets. Using grass clippings on your lawn or in a compost pile will reinforce your gardening efforts. By salvaging pallets from the landfills, the benefits are twofold: valuable landfill space is conserved and the pallets’ hardwood is reused. You will also lend support to a worthy cause.

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The pallets are available for a small delivery fee, in lots of four or six. They can be delivered as a “do it yourself” project (with instructions) or can be assembled in your yard for a slightly higher fee. Composting suggestions are also included. Call the natural resources committee at 368-1791 for information and order forms.

The “Don’t Bag It” program apparently isn’t working for everyone. A new plan is in effect after complaints from senior citizens and others who want to bag their yard waste, but are unable to deliver it to the City’s collection locations.

Stickers may be purchased to place on your bags of clippings. The bags will be picked up by the Sanitation crews and taken to the City’s composting sites. Stickers are available at 37 recreation centers for 50 cents each, and are sold in sets of 10. Call the Recycling Hotline at 670-4475 for the location nearest you.

It’s to be expected that the “Don’t Bag It” program will take some getting used to. For many of us, the changes to our normal routines were minimal. The stickers will not please everyone, but this solution is better than scrapping the program. “Don’t Bag It” is both necessary and beneficial, especially since Americans throw out 28 million tons of grass clippings, leaves, and branches every year.