TRASH: Mountains of contaminated debris piling up along curbs require massive lift by government agencies

The pile of debris outside Anita Devine’s house in Independence Heights isn’t quite the mountain of waterlogged mattresses of others, but it’s still growing.

She’s still debating whether to set her couch out front. She raised it in her living room, but the bottom still got wet when the water level topped the boxwoods she’d lovingly planted outside and the mucky floodwaters crawled through her home.

“I don’t know if I can save it. I just haven’t decided yet,” she said. “And if I put it out on the curb, then I have an empty house.”

She has no idea when anyone will come to pick up all these items.

“I’m worried about it. My fridge went out, and I’ve still got stinky stuff from the refrigerator in there,” she said, looking at her big green garbage can. “And regular trash pickup here won’t be until Wednesday,

because Monday’s a holiday.” She paused for a second. “It’s going to be while,” she said. “And it’s already been a while. It’s what? Over a week or so now.”

Picking up the pieces — literally — will provide a big lift to Houston-area residents but will require a massive effort from government agencies that need to quickly remove tons of contaminated trash from curbs and streets.

“We have to get it done like now,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said Sunday on CBS News, noting the growing mountains of debris. “It can’t be sitting around 30, 45 (days), two months from now.”

In a Sunday morning update, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said President Donald Trump’s approval of disaster assistance authorized the federal government to pick up 90 percent of the cost of debris removal, accelerating cleanup efforts.

Meanwhile, with debris from tens of thousands of flooded homes piling up and deteriorating in the humid Texas heat, officials are warning homeowners and remodelers to separate the loads, keep vehicles out of the way of equipment and avoid blocking roads.

Pickups in some areas started Thursday, as officials raced to contain what they knew would be a massive health and safety issue. Specifics of where all the materials will end up, or what effect it will have on area landfills, were unclear Sunday.

As they developed plans inside Houston, officials said 42 solid waste department employees were freed so they can tend to their own flooded homes. Three of the residences were likely a total loss, officials said.

‘Way beyond’ Ike

The sheer volume of junk headed for recycling centers and landfills has led to trash trucks from across the state descending on Houston. On Sunday, officials were warning Kingwood residents that San Antonio trash trucks would start rolling around the area on Monday. The visiting trucks are being staged at the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s nearby park-and-ride lot.

In unincorporated Harris County, contractors will handle removal, a process that will increase in the coming days, said Dimetra Hamilton of the Harris County Infrastructure Department. Officials predict a historic amount of detritus to haul off. The county removed 1 million cubic yards of material during Hurricane Ike.

“This is not even on a scale from Hurricane Ike — it is way beyond that,” Hamilton said.

Houston officials estimated crews will clear away 8 million cubic yards of materials, relying on 23 contractors and 21 teams of city junk waste haulers. An armada of 15 construction loaders and 45 trucks will descend on Kingwood on Monday, along with a fuel truck and two teams of mechanics to keep the equipment operating.

Across the region, various agencies are coordinating debris collection. Cities and counties are overseeing collections in their areas. Officials in Pearland, Montgomery County and Fort Bend County said preparations are underway, urging people to monitor emergency management websites for further details.

With advice from FEMA, officials said materials should be divided into five categories, each separately organized: Vegetation, construction and demolition, appliances, electronics and hazardous waste.

The different piles are necessary because different types of debris are going different places, Hamilton said, ranging from recycling facilities and landfills to hazardous material handlers.

Officials also stressed not mixing routine trash in with the other debris.

“Debris should be placed close to the side of the road away from mailboxes, trees, meters, fire hydrants and other structures,” Houston’s solid waste department said in a release. “Please do not place debris in the roadway.”

To avoid contamination and other health problems, Hamilton said appliances such as refrigerators and freezers should be cleared of any food.

“Just put that in the regular trash,” she said.

Works in progress

Neighborhoods drying out already look like work zones. Along many streets where homes took on a few inches of water during the historic rains, large piles dot the lawns between driveways.

Lary Tillmon took a break from clearing out his home after taking in about 2 or 3 feet of water. He sat on a camping chair in the driveway behind a mound of his possessions, ripped and sodden on the street. Music played through his speakerphone as he waited for his chance to talk with FEMA.

He’d been on hold for a while.

“I don’t think it will be too long before they pick it up,” he said of the pile out front. “I haven’t heard anything from anyone yet. But …” He sighed. “I have other problems,” he said.

Tillmon saw worse flooding on his side of the street than across the way, where John Rogers and Joy Miller live. In their home, on the north side, the water lapped at the door but didn’t make it in. But their roof leaked, and they still had plenty of mucking to do.

Their trash sat neat and tidy in the proper bins, ready to be wheeled out to the curb. But they’re not counting on seeing anyone

soon.

“We didn’t see anyone during the floods,” Rogers said. “Not emergency vehicles, not nobody.”

He and Miller don’t have a lot of faith that they’ll see trash crews soon, either.

“Ain’t nobody been up here to pick up anything. And I have no idea how long it’s going to be until they do,” Miller said. “They said they were back on their regular schedule. But we haven’t seen nobody.”

In parts of Houston, where officials rely on drainage ditches instead of curbs and gutters for stormwater removal, some stacks of storm-soaked belongings are so large, they’re spilling down into the ditches.

The piles have already posed problems beyond just appearance in normally manicured neighborhoods. In Bellaire, Mayor Andrew Freidberg told residents in a mass email that scavengers were causing problems, though rifling through the piles is “not illegal, per se.”

“We’re concerned about it because many residents are reporting that scavengers are rummaging through their belongings at the curb and leaving an even bigger mess behind,” Friedberg said.

On Sunday, Greg Slutz, 63, was photographing damage and items outside his Bellaire home. It was the first time in 29 years the home flooded.

“We were very fortunate,” Slutz said. “It was very minor.”