Art for Dumpsters

Dallas artists dress up dumpsters for offbeat competition

Dallas artists will get an unusual new canvas.

Photo courtesy of Diane Kurzyna aka Ruby Reusable

A new program by the city of Dallas' Sanitation Services department will support local artists in a most unusual way. Called Art for Dumpsters, it will award five artists with commissions to be displayed on city recycling containers.

According to Murray Myers, who oversees the city's "zero waste" department, Art for Dumpsters will take mundane recycle containers and transform them into a canvas. Sporting their beautiful new art, the dumpsters will make their surrounding neighborhoods more aware of recycling and engage people in recycling at the site. The project also allows artists to showcase their work on an unusual canvas with lots of visibility.

The goal is to provide a creative message about recycling and the environment, and to draw attention to the city's recycling drop-off sites. The city currently has more than 140 recycling drop-off sites.

"We had seen this done in other cities," Myers says. "Trash and recycling containers are frequently hidden in alleys, behind screens, or in basements of buildings. They're painted to blend in so they don't attract attention. But this shines a light on the message of environmental stewardship."

They worked with the Deep Ellum Community Association (DECA) to make it part of the Deep Ellum Arts Festival, a 3-day festival that takes place April 1-3.

"DECA helped us establish the criteria, that it be good art that reflects recycling, environmentalism, and Dallas," Myers says. "And they reinforced the necessity of a prize, since that increases participation."

The prizes are not shabby. Five finalists will get $2,250, plus $250 for supplies. The finalists will paint the dumpsters at the Deep Ellum Arts Festival for all to see on April 2, from 7 am to 5 pm. One grand prize "best in show" artist will win an additional $1,500.

The five winning dumpsters will go to Earth Day Texas on April 22, where they'll be on display. By May, the winners will be dispersed throughout the city. The Best in Show award will be displayed as a wrap on a City of Dallas collections truck.

"We'll also put the winning artwork on wraps and cover an additional 10 dumpsters," Myers says.

The locations will be spread throughout the city, but will most likely include Tietze Park, the most popular recycling center in the city.

Artists can be individuals or teams of up to five people. "We're hoping that we might get some student groups from DISD to participate," Myers says. Hmm, that cuts down significantly on the prize money, though. Dilemma.

"This is a new process for us and we're trying to get as many artists to participate as possible," Myers says.

The deadline for submissions is March 18. Information on the contest can be found on DallasCityNews.net. The entry must be something that the artist can recreate on a dumpster, and the artist must be available to do that on April 2.

From there, it's just a few short steps to dumpster fame and fortune.

sustainability deep-ellum

Outpacing the competition

Dallas suburb flexes as No. 1 fittest city in Texas for 2026

Photo courtesy of City of Plano

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The people of Plano deserve to take a victory lap: The Dallas-Fort Worth suburb has been crowned the fittest city in Texas for 2026.

This year’s American Fitness Index puts Plano at No. 12 among the country’s 100 most populated cities, up from 14th place last year, and at No. 1 in Texas, the same spot as last year. Plano ranks 10th in the personal health category and 30th in the community and environment category.

The index shows 86 percent of Plano residents had exercised in the previous month, 67 percent had met aerobic activity guidelines, and 37 percent had met aerobic and strength activity guidelines. All three of those numbers are above the 100-city averages.

The Elevance Health Foundation and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) produce the annual index, which they say combines measures of personal health behavior, chronic disease outcomes, community infrastructure and environmental factors “to provide a comprehensive picture of how well cities promote fitness and well-being.”

Arlington, Virginia, tops the index, followed by Washington, D.C.; Minneapolis; Seattle; and Denver.

“The cities that consistently rank at the top aren’t succeeding because of one program or one investment,” Stella Volpe, past president of ACSM and chair of the Fitness Index Advisory Board, says in a press release. “They’ve built systems that support healthier living over time. They are the ones creating environments where physical activity can easily become a part of everyday routines.”

In Plano’s case, the highly rated park system contributes to the city’s healthy environment. In May, Plano landed at No. 1 in Texas and 13th in the U.S. in the annual ParkScore Index. Plano’s No. 13 ranking marked an all-time high for the city.

Every year, land conservation nonprofit The Trust for Public Land rates park systems in the 100 biggest American cities on accessibility, equity, acreage, investment, and amenities.

Here’s how other DFW cities in the American Fitness Index:

Frisco ranks 32nd (making its index debut).
Dallas ranks 43rd, up from 46th last year.
Fort Worth ranks 69th, up from 80th last year.
Garland ranks 72nd, up from 75th last year.
Arlington ranks 78th, up from 83rd last year.
Irving ranks 86th, down from 84th last year.

Among other Texas cities appearing in the American Fitness index are:

No. 28 Austin, down from No. 21 last year.
No. 44 Houston, up from No. 49 last year.
No. 80 San Antonio, up from No. 94 last year.

“Where you live increasingly determines how healthy you are,” Volpe says. “The healthiest cities don’t just encourage exercise — they make movement part of daily life through infrastructure, transportation, and community design.”

fittest city plano rankings health

Art for Dumpsters

Dallas artists dress up dumpsters for offbeat competition

Outpacing the competition

Dallas suburb flexes as No. 1 fittest city in Texas for 2026

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