HOUSTON — Along Old Clinton Road in east Houston, illegal dumping has left business owners frustrated and asking for help.
Even after cleaning up, there's a long way to go.
“This trash makes your property looks bad. I mean, it drives your customers away,” Jay Hicks said.
From his side of the street, Hicks' view looks more like a landfill.
“Bathtubs, beds, box springs, washers, dryers, couches ... you name it,” Hicks said.
Hicks said the growing problem has been an issue since he started doing business there last year. He had to do quite a bit of legwork to get city trucks to come and pick up some of the trash for the first time.
“The last three months, I know for a fact that I've been calling and asking for help. But it took emailing the mayor's office, KHOU, the railroad,” he said.
They came on Thursday, but Hicks said it's not enough.
“It should have happened months ago. They should have sent somebody out ... responded to our calls, responded to our emails and just said 'we'll send somebody out' ... addressed the situation," he said.
Hick said he has spent $7,000 of his own money to try to fix the situation. He said he even filed a police report for some huge pipes that were recently dropped off by an illegal dumper.
“I was shocked. I just, I couldn't ... I could not understand how he did that or why,” Hicks said.
He's asking for the city's help cleaning up the road. He is also calling out the people trashing the city and telling them to have some pride.
“This is Houston. I mean, this is our city. We need to keep it clean," Hicks said.
Houston police said they're aware of the pipes that were dropped off on Thursday and its environmental crimes unit will be investigating.