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Public Outreach and Education
Every successful environmental management program succeeds in part because of two key components: training and education. The Office of Environmental Quality (OEQ) is one of several City departments providing training and outreach opportunities on environmentally related topics.
OEQ provided training to all affected City departments on the newly adopted City Administrative Directives (AD 3-73 and AD 3-74) that focus on reporting spills and other incidents. In three months (October, November, and December 2006), over 2,800 City employees were exposed to the importance of protecting storm water from spills and how the City expects employees to respond to environmental incidents. OEQ continues to offer this training course to City departments on an “as needed” basis, primarily for new field employees.
To assist City department environmental staff with environmental and health and safety worker training, OEQ teamed up with Human Resources to develop one day of seminars in City Hall. With a variety of seminars starting every hour on the hour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., City employees were exposed to everything from traffic safety, blood-borne pathogens, and property inspections to storm water inspections, waste management, and pollution prevention. The seminars were delivered by City staff and outside experts from agencies such as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. More than 800 City employees participated in this daylong training.
Other initiatives include:
- Cartridges for Kids Program
Every department and every division recycles Inkjet and LaserJet cartridges from work and home as well as personal used cell phones. FedEx collects the recycled cartridges and cell phones at no cost and delivers them to Cartridges For Kids, which recycles them and sends a check to Children's Miracle Network, which in turn directs the monies earned from the City of Dallas program directly to our local Children's Hospitals. - Office Recycling
The City initiated an In-House Office Recycling Program in 2003 that provides employees the convenience of recycling desk-side at 230 City facilities. There is also recycling for the public in common areas such as the convention center, lobbies, meeting rooms and hallways. In 2005 alone, City offices recycled 2,316,435 pounds of materials that would have ended up in landfills without this initiative. - City of Dallas Ozone Action Plan
The City of Dallas implements a City Wide Ozone Action Plan each year from May 1st through October 31st. The City of Dallas is a proud member of the EPA’s Best Workplaces for Commuters. By offering flex schedules where applicable and providing DART passes to employees at a reduced price, the City has reduced vehicles miles traveled in the DFW region. This has helped to improve traffic congestion and reduce emissions associated with the formation of ozone.
