HOUSTON - Residents around the city are complaining of recycling problems.
“It’s frustrating, really frustrating,” said resident Laura Conely.
Conely’s recycling bin has been sitting on the curb for days. Her regularly scheduled pick-up was supposed to be 3 days ago.
“We don’t know. Should we leave it out? Are they going to come the next day?” she said.
The longtime resident says she’s made numerous 311 calls in recent months to find out why the pick-ups are either delayed or don’t happen at all. Crews are supposed to empty bins every 2 weeks.
Conely said the city tells her to just leave the barrels out for the next collection. She has environmental concerns about doing that, especially on rainy days.
“The barrels are always out. If the lids are ajar and we get a rain or wind, then it is going to end up in the street, and as a frequenter of the park, along the bayou, then it ends up in the bayou, right?” she said.
The city blames a busy holiday season and “higher volume” at the curb for falling behind. The Solid Waste Management Department also attributes to delays to “nagging equipment issues.”
Those issues, according to the Director of SWM, Harry Hayes, include a failing fleet of more than 130 automated trucks and a shortage a shortage of drivers and mechanics to handle more than 40 recycling routes daily.
The city says regularly scheduled pick-ups should resume within 60 days. It also notes this summer, it’ll be getting a number of new recycling trucks.
For now, customers are trying not to “throw away” their patience.
“I hope that we can get this over with soon,” resident Bob Baker said.