Houston – After months of uncollected yard waste have piled up, frustrated residents in Houston’s Westbury neighborhood said they’ve been left in the dark about when city crews will arrive.
Bruce Wilkins, who has lived in Westbury since 1981, told KPRC 2 he hasn’t seen a city crew pick up leaves, branches, or other yard debris since May.
Recommended Videos
“It’s almost like they forgot about our neighborhood,” Wilkins said.
Walking through the neighborhood, it’s clear Wilkins isn’t alone. Piles of leaves, tree limbs, and bags of debris line several front yards.
Wilkins says the problem extends beyond yard waste. He describes recycling as “sporadic,” with his last pickup delayed by three weeks.
“Now, as you look around our neighborhood, people are just leaving their recycling cans out because they don’t know when it’s going to be picked up,” said Wilkins.
KPRC 2 checked the HTX Collects app, which showed Wilkins’ address listed with yard waste and recycling currently delayed.
According to Houston’s 311 data, missed garbage pickup has been the top complaint in the past four weeks, followed closely by missed recycling. Yard waste, however, did not rank among the most common service requests. Missed heavy trash pickup came in at number seven.
Neighbor Tina Amaya says the inconsistent schedule has left families confused.
“Nobody knows if it’s heavy trash or is it yard waste? Is it recycling?” Amaya said.
She worries uncollected debris could worsen flooding concerns.
“Something has to give. Our yards are dying, our neighborhood’s starting to look a little trashy, and it’s very frustrating when we’re in hurricane season. This is the stuff that creates the floods,” said Amaya.
The city of Houston Solid Waste Management Department said delays are tied to an aging truck fleet. A spokesperson told KPRC 2 the department is in the process of replacing vehicles, some of which break down so frequently that up to 50 trucks can be out of service in a single day.
To reduce delays, crews are collecting yard waste alongside bulk and tree waste.
In a statement, the department said:
“The service for the Westbury area had been running behind schedule, which affected yard waste, recycling, and garbage collections. Our crews have made progress and have now caught up to scheduled collections. Currently, citywide heavy trash collections are generally running about three days behind schedule. Crews are scheduled to begin collecting in the Braewick area tomorrow.”