HOUSTON — Garbage bags, furniture and concrete blocks are just some of the items residents of a Near Northside neighborhood in Houston said they constantly see at the corner of Chapman and English streets. They said people have been illegally dumping trash at the intersection for years.
John McCoy lives right across the roadway and calls it an eyesore.
“It’s out of control, and it all comes from the neighborhood. This is a nice, quiet place to live. But damn, this… is ridiculous,” McCoy said. “These people know that you can’t be dumping like this here. They don’t give a damn.”
McCoy said a major concern he has is the broken glass that sometimes litters the street when people dump their trash near his home.
“When you’ve got to move your truck or your car down this road, you got glass all over. That’s a hazard,” McCoy said. “That’s going to mess your tires up.”
Vanessa Rodriguez also lives nearby and said the trash and debris have caused rodents to infiltrate her home.
“We’re getting mice. People are dumping their trash, and they even throw their regular trash out there,” Rodriguez said. “They just come and dump on the side of the street, dump their trash right there, and drive off.”
Residents said they constantly report the issue to the City of Houston through 311, the phone helpline and online service request portal.
The trash is removed for the most part, they said the illegal dumping picks back up almost immediately.
“When they come and pick it up, the following weeks, it’s all back there again,” Rodriguez said.
"As soon as they come through here and clean it up, the next day they dump it," McCoy added.
According to the City of Houston’s 311 website, there are currently two open illegal dumping complaints at the intersection. One was filed on Nov. 22 and the other was filed on Nov. 27, with both having an estimated clean up timeline of 29 days.
But because this is always an issue, neighbors said they want the city to step up its response.
“I think they should do more enforcement or watching of these neighborhoods at least until the problem stopped,” resident Leo Gonzales said.
Gonzales added that if people refuse to stop dumping in his neighborhood, the City of Houston should consider creating a centralized spot for people to bring their trash and unwanted items.
“Maybe there should be community dumpsters that are placed out here, to at least address the issue in the short term,” Gonzales said.
But McCoy said he wants the dumping to stop completely and believes officials should keep a close eye on the intersection.
“We just need somebody out here to watch it,” McCoy said. “We try to watch them, but we can’t stop them, man. They’re going to do what they want to do.”
KHOU 11 reached out to the City of Houston Public Works about the illegal dumping issue. They directed us to the city’s Solid Waste Management Division. As of Monday night, they have not gotten back to KHOU 11.