As the Dallas Sanitation Services department tells us, there are some things that simply can’t be thrown away in the trash or recycled at municipal recycling centers or paying recycling facilities like Encore Recyclers. This material is important to dispose of properly—but it’s also dangerous and difficult to work withHowever, there is a solution! The city of Garland, the city of Dallas, and Encore are all concerned with the health of our community and our environment, so we thought we’d let you know about an upcoming opportunity to dispose of some of your hazardous materials ethically and responsibly. The city of Dallas puts on BOPA collection events a few times every year, and the next one is coming right up on November 11th. Mark your calendars—it’s time to do some good in the community by getting rid of these materials the right way.
What is all this BOPA stuff, anyway?
BOPA stands for Batteries, Oil, Paint, and Antifreeze. These are fairly common materials that many Dallas residents have, but cannot be disposed of safely through the city’s usual trash collection system.
On November 11th, though, residents of Dallas County—which includes most Garland residents—may bring their BOPA materials to the BOPA Mobile, which will be at 5639 Forest Lane. Waste collection will happen on this day between 8am and 11am.
Be sure to note that BOPA includes oil filters as well as liquid oil. Oil filters are also dangerous to throw in the regular trash—but they can also be picked up for free at this upcoming collection event!
How do I get rid of BOPA safely?
Bringing your materials to the BOPA Mobile on November 11th is the easiest and safest way to dispose of them (though if you can’t make it on this date, there will be another collection in the near future!). There are a few rules to follow, but they’re very simple.
In order to dispose of your BOPA, you will need to bring proof that you are a resident of Dallas County. A state-issued photo identification card, such as a driver’s license, is the most common choice. However, even if you don’t have ID, you’re welcome to dispose of your BOPA—just bring a utility bill with your in-county address on it!
In addition, this service is only available to individual residents, not to businesses. If you’d like more information on how to safely dispose of your business’s BOPA waste, call Dallas’ Sanitation Services department.
One final rule: each resident is allowed to recycle only 25 gallons of material per event. However, this total excludes batteries—so you can bring as many batteries as you can carry! Of course, if you’d prefer to get paid for your lead batteries, bring them to Encore.
After you’re finished dropping off your BOPA, check out the Sanitation Services website for information about upcoming collection events, as well as other HHW (Hazardous Household Waste) events. More general HHW events held throughout the year often allow residents to drop off household chemicals like bleach in addition to regular BOPA products.
We’ll also do our best to keep you posted about future collection dates! Remember, it’s always easy and fun to keep our community and our environment clean and safe.
