HOUSTON — A new study kicks off this week in the City of Houston to determine if residents should pay a garbage fee for their trash and recycling services. This study is expected to take four to six months. It will look at the Department of Solid Waste as a whole, how the finances work, and if any costs should be passed on to the consumer.
It's something there’s never a shortage of complaints on in Houston.
"If you drive through the neighborhood, you will see lots of cans are overflowing on the street," said Cindy Case, in a January interview with KHOU 11.
When we looked at 311 data, we found she wasn’t alone. Last year, there were 20,222 complaints called into 311 for missed recycling in the City of Houston. That’s an average of 55 a day.
Solid Waste Director Mark Wilfalk said the services offered have increased, but funding hasn’t.
“If you look at what’s going on today versus what was going on 20 years ago, there was no recycling, there was no weekly or monthly bulk waste pickup," he said.
Wilfalk thinks it’s time for a garbage fee. It's an idea that has been shot down before, but recently the city council gave the department a green light to launch a study.
Garbage fees in other cities across Texas range from $15 to $50. KHOU 11 asked Wilfalk what he thinks Houston's number should be.
“I’m not certain, it’s too early for me to tell right now," Wilkfalk said.
If a fee doesn't pass, he says the department will not have enough funding to maintain the level of service Houston demands.
“We are going to be in the same situation, the media is going to go out and continue to find frustrated customers, it’s going to be this same cyclical cycle," he said. "We will be like hamsters on a wheel."
Once the fee study is done, the city council will take a vote. If it passes, it will show up on your water bill. There’s already a Solid Waste Cart Fee that’s a few dollars. The garbage fee would be in addition to that.