Special Collections

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Note: Effective February 1, 2025, participants who have been enrolled for more than two years must renew their enrollment.

Program Description

The City of Dallas Department of Sanitation Services provides garbage and recycle collection assistance to physically disabled persons residing without an able-bodied person in the household. Following approval of application and enrollment in the program, Sanitation crew members will retrieve the garbage and recycling roll carts on the assigned collection day from a predetermined location (usually at the side of the home), empty them, and return them to their original location.

Eligibility

The Helping Hands Program is available to all Sanitation residential customers requiring garbage and recycle collection assistance services due to disability as defined in the section below, and who live without able-bodied household members. Participationmay be subject to audit to verify eligibility. The program does not apply to monthly brush and bulky item collection services. This service is not available
to commercial or institutional customers.

Disability Definition


For the purposes of the Helping Hands Program, “disability” and “mobility problems” are defined, as provided in the Texas Transportation Code, as follows: 

Transportation Code, Section 681.001(2) defines a disability as a condition in which a person has: 

(a) mobility problems that substantially impair the person's ability to ambulate; 
(b) visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting lenses; or 
(c) visual acuity of more than 20/200 but with a limited field of vision in which the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle of 20 degrees or less. 

Transportation Code, Section 681.001(5) defines a mobility problem as one that substantially impairs a person's ability to ambulate, and the person: 
(a) cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest; 
(b) cannot walk without the use of or assistance from an assistance device, including a brace, cane, crutch, another person or a prosthetic device; 
(c) cannot ambulate without a wheelchair or similar device;
(d) is restricted by lung disease to the extent that the person's forced respiratory expiratory volume for one second, measured by spirometry, is less than one liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 millimeters of mercury on room air at rest;
(e) uses portable oxygen; 
(f) has a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to standards set by the American Heart Association; 
(g) is severely limited in the ability to walk because of an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition; 
(h) has a disorder of the foot that, in the opinion of a physician licensed to practice medicine in this state or in a state adjacent to this state, limits or impairs the person's ability to walk; or 
(i) has another debilitating condition that, in the opinion of a physician licensed to practice medicine in this state or a state adjacent to this state, or authorized by applicable law to practice medicine in a hospital or other health facility of the Veterans Administration, limits or impairs the person's ability to walk.

Licensed Medical Professional Disability Certification


Certification by a Licensed Medical Professional is a requirement of the Helping Hands Program. A Licensed Medical Professional must certify that the Applicant has a disability as defined in the section above and must identify whether the disability is permanent or temporary.

Fees


Helping Hands collection service is provided at no additional cost to qualifying customers. The current monthly residential sanitation fee, which is subject to change, still applies.

Initiate Service


Initiate Service by doing the following:

1. Complete the Helping Hands Program Application and Declaration of Special Need form. These forms can be downloaded from Dallas.gov/Sanitation [scroll to bottom of this page to download form]. Create a Sanitation Helping Hands service request online at Dallas.gov or through the Dallas 311 mobile app, answer all required questions, upload the required forms, and submit. If you cannot download the forms, proceed to Step 2.

2. Create a Sanitation Helping Hands service request online at Dallas.gov, through the Dallas 311 mobile app, or by calling 3-1-1. Provide how you would like to receive the required forms. Return the completed forms to Sanitation Headquarters by any of the options indicated below. Sanitation Service Agents can provide hand carry service only upon request. The service request will be placed on hold for up to 20 business days until completed forms are received.

b. Mail To:

City of Dallas
Department of Sanitation Services
Attn: Billing
3112 Canton Street, Suite 200
Dallas, Texas 75226

3. Schedule a site visit with a Sanitation representative. Upon submission of the completed forms, you will be contacted by phone and/or email to schedule a site visit to identify a mutually agreeable location for roll cart placement.

Helping Hands service usually begins within two weeks of receipt of completed forms and site visit.

Roll Cart Placement & Collection Service


Following application and submission of the required completed forms, a Sanitation representative will contact the applicant to arrange a site visit to determine an appropriate and mutually agreeable location for the storage and weekly collection service of the garbage and recycle roll cart(s). Roll cart placement is subject to the provisions of the Dallas City Code. Additionally, the collection location must be generally visible and accessible from the curb or alley, and not behind a fence or partition. The collection pointwill generally be consistent with other households on the block. For example, if garbage and recycle is collected from the curb for other homes on the block, the applicant’s roll cart(s) will also be serviced from the curb. Sanitation may require the roll cart placement to change for safety or collection efficiency reasons. Please DO the following:

  • Garbage should be bagged and placed in the gray roll cart(s) with the lid closed.
  • Recyclables should NOT be bagged. Place recyclables loose in the blue roll cart(s)with the lid closed. 
  • Recycle materials should be clean and dry (soiled materials and liquids can contaminate the contents of the entire roll cart).
  • Collapse and flatten cardboard boxes when placing in the blue roll cart(s). 
  • Have the roll cart(s) at the approved designated collection point. 

Failure to follow collection guidelines may result in denial of service, additional fees, and/or citation, in accordance with Dallas City Code Section 18-4. Visit Dallas.gov/Sanitation for complete garbage and recycle rules and regulations.

Renewal

Participants must renew enrollment in the Helping Hands Program every two years on or before the initial start date. To ensure services do not terminate, participants should:

1. Initiate the renewal 30-45 days prior to the expiration/end date by submitting a Sanitation Helping Hands service request online at Dallas.gov, through the Dallas 311 mobile app, or by calling 3-1-1.
2. Submit an Application and Declaration of Special Need form.

Failure to complete the renewal requirements prior to the expiration/end date of the service periodwill result in the discontinuance of the Helping Hands Program service and reversion to standard collection services.

Cancellation


Helping Hands Program customers should notify Sanitation immediately regarding a change in their eligibility for program participation. A participant is no longer eligible for the program if:

  1. The participant no longer meets the disability definition as provided above; or
  2. There is an able-bodied person residing in the home.
To cancel Helping Hands collection service, submit a Sanitation Helping Hands service request online at Dallas.gov, through the Dallas 311 mobile app, or by calling 3-1-1. Select the “Cancel Service” option when asked “What is the nature of your request?”.

Other Terms and Conditions


The provision of solid waste collection services is provided in accordance with Dallas City Code Chapter 18, Article I. Failure to abide by the ordinances set forth in the Dallas City Code may result in criminal and civil penalties, fees, and/or denial of service.

The City of Dallas Department of Sanitation Services may terminate Helping Hands Program service without notice for:

  • Failure to renew,
  • Failure to provide accurate and complete information,
  • Failure to place roll carts at the approved point of location,
  • Failure to adhere to the rules provided in the Helping Hands Program Requirements or Dallas City Code, or
  • Lack of resources to provide the service.
The Director of Sanitation may make changes to program rules or discontinue providing Helping Hands collection service for any other reason communicated in writing to the participant no later than 30 days prior to discontinuance.

Application Form




Pack-Out

With a signed and approved application, Sanitation staff will enter onto private property at a mutually agreed point, accessible from the front of the property, to collect, service, and return garbage and recycle rollcarts on the weekly day of service. A monthly service fee for this service will be reflected on the customer's City utility bill (water bill) for this service. For more information, or to request this service, please submit a Sanitation Pack-Out service request, or call 3-1-1.