HOUSTON – As the city of Houston faces a federal probe into its handling of illegal dumping in Black and Brown neighborhoods, residents in Sunnyside say they’ve seen no sign things are improving.
In July 2022, the United States Department of Justice announced it was opening an environmental justice investigation focusing on Houston’s operations, policies and practices related to illegal dumping reported by Black and Latino residents.
The ditches along Groveton Street and Jutland Road in Sunnyside are known hot spots for illegal dumping. The city has surveillance cameras in the area and signs warning violators of fines, but residents say it’s not working.
Travis McGee, a Sunnyside business owner, says the piles of trash there now have been there for months.
“It’s neglect. It looks worse than the depository where you’re actually supposed to put the trash,” McGee told KPRC 2 News.
The two illegal dumping sites are a one-minute drive to the city’s neighborhood depository and recycling center on Sunbeam Street.
McGee says he’s seen city garbage trucks and heavy trash trucks drive by and do nothing.
“Why would it still be back here if city vehicles have to come through here also? They tell us to call 311 and then we call 311,” he said.
Houston city council member Carolyn Evans-Shabazz represents Sunnyside and recommends residents follow a two-step process to report illegal dumping.
“Not only do you report it to 311, but you can also hold and ask them to transfer you to District D. At that point, then we take ownership of the complaint, and it’s been pretty successful,” she said.
Evans-Shabazz says her office has a special rapid-response clean-up team that will take care of complaints in a day or two.
She says the community needs to do its part, but also recognizes there are barriers to accessing the city depository.
“It’s going to need to be a mindset change for people to stop trashing where they live because they don’t live very far from that area, they just don’t want it in their yards. We’ve tried to ease requirements at the dump so it won’t be such a daunting process, but we do have things in place to preclude people from being able to use the dump because you do have to have a (city of Houston) water bill,” she said.
McGee says more enforcement is needed.
“You have the laws on the books already, but what are you doing with them? Most of the time people just get warnings, we don’t need any more warnings,” he said.
Just hours after KPRC 2 News contacted the city about the issue, residents saw crews cleaning up the ditches.
On Feb. 8, Houston City Council approved a three-year, $8 million contract with a company that will provide more trucks and crews to remove junk waste and heavy trash during even months. The city says its solid waste management department cleans between 230 to over 400 illegal dumping sites around the city each month.