City OKs $1.9Mfor efforts to cut trash
Dip into reserves will help curb waste, clear illegal dumpsites
Houston will hire one of its disaster debris contractors to help the Solid Waste Management Department collect junk waste and clear illegal dumpsites under a $1.9million contract approved by city council Wednesday.
The move marks the latest stopgap trash collection measure implemented by the Turner administration as the city awaits the delivery of 90 new garbage and recycling trucks, which have been ordered to replace part of the Solid Waste Management Department’s aging fleet.
In January, amid a backlog that left residents’ overflowing green and black bins at the curb well past their scheduled collection days, city council agreed to rent a handful of trucks and hire a private company to handle a portion of the city’s recycling collection.
In addition to boosting the collection of disposed furniture, appliances and other junk waste, the latest contract also was promoted as an effort to help the city curb its mosquito breeding problem, which typically ranks among the worst in the country.
“We’ve got a lot of illegal dumping that’s taking place,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said. “It’s creating health issues, as well as drainage issues. And so, you budget based on what your needs are, your priorities. And I think people will agree that this is a priority, and it’s a need.”
Mosquitoes can breed in materials commonly found among illegally dumped trash, such as tires and plastic buckets, said David Persse, medical director of the city's EMS program.
“Because mosquitoes can breed in as little as a bottle cap full of water, it may seem daunting to try to win this particular aspect of the battle,” Persse wrote in a letter to Solid Waste Management Director Harry Hayes. “However, we do know of, and can eradicate thousands of breeding sites with aggressive trash eradication efforts.”
The contract is going to DRC
Emergency Services, which typically handles Houston’s disaster debris removal, and Nola Construction and Development Group. Their crews will work with city employees to clear illegal dumping sites and collect residents’ junk waste, according to Turner’s office.
To pay for the contract, which runs through December, the mayor is dipping into the city’s general fund balance, or reserves. The city ended June with an estimated $326 million fund balance, Finance Director Tantri Emo said Wednesday, compared to the $299 million total projected when the city approved its fiscal 2020 budget in June.
“The good news is that the fund balance is strong enough that we can incur this expense,” Turner said.
The city’s Solid Waste Management Department has come under fire in recent months after a report by KHOU revealed employees have mixed trash and recycling and dumped recyclables at the city’s garbage facility.
Turner ordered an internal investigation into the department in May after the initial report surfaced. Since then, KHOU has reported the city sent at least 2.6 million pounds of curbside recycling waste to landfills from Jan. 1 through the end of May.