Houston faces recycling delays due to staffing, equipment, and infrastructure issues. Service requests have more than doubled since May.
HOUSTON — Several factors around staffing, equipment and infrastructure have led to a dramatic spike in delayed recycling collection, the head of Houston’s Solid Waste Management told KHOU 11 in an exclusive interview.
So far in June, there have been more than 7,500 service requests for missed recycle pickups according to 311 data. That’s a significant increase from a little more than 3,000 such requests in May and fewer than 1,700 complaints each for the months of April, March and February.
On Thursday, KHOU 11 was able to speak one-on-one with Solid Waste Management Interim Director Larius Hassen to ask about the cause of the collection delays seen across the city. Part of the issue is an old fleet of trucks.
“Over the past holidays, we have experienced a lot of delays simply because we have an aging fleet,” Hassen said. “We’re averaging about 17 to 20 breakdowns a day.”
Houston City Council recently approved the purchase of more than 30 trucks for SWM, though those are still months away from arriving and being implemented into the fleet.
While more trucks will help, Hassen said there is still an issue with how the recycling waste is deposited.
“The main problem is for us and recycling is the fact that we only have one place to take recycling,” Hassen said. “Just imagine if you have 60 or 70 trucks going to one facility.”
Hassen explained how the only facility for trucks to drop off recycling sees long lines of trucks waiting to drop off recycling material, leading to lost time that otherwise would see drivers go through more streets to pick up more green bins.
For that reason, Hassen said the department is looking at temporary private partnerships to address recycling collection delays — both with independent contractors as well as sites for recycling drop off — while the city explores potentially finding additional recycling facilities.
Then there’s the issues around staffing, an aspect Hassen said he is determined to reform.
“I’m trying to figure out what it is that we can actually produce in an eight-hour day,” Hassen told KHOU 11. “The old regime wanted overtime, overtime, overtime.”
Hassen said while his crews are working hard to address current delays, the reality is that they are understaffed and overworked. Since his arrival as interim director in April, Hassen said he has tried to boost staff morale.
The department has lost about 30 employees due to recent retirements, though Hassen said he has been able to maintain or even exceed efficiencies despite the decrease in staffing.
That effort goes hand-in-hand with his aim to completely overhaul the department in order to deliver improved service for the city.
“Mayor Whitmire has challenged us,” Hassen said. “It’s our job in the director’s office to come up with a more efficient operational plan for our residents and our employees to be successful all at once.”
The long-term strength of the department will rely on more support for Solid Waste Management, Hassen said. That includes the potential for a future solid waste fee — an idea tossed around City Hall for years but not included in budgets, including Mayor Whitmire’s most recent one passed earlier this month.
Hassen believes a fee should be considered, though he remains focused on getting the most out of what he has now before having the city go to residents with a fee.
“I think a fee is going to have to come in sooner or later,” Hassen said. “But we need to do our job here internally to look at the efficiencies.”
Hassen said his vision and systems for the department will still take months to get in place and see results, but he says the current recycling delays — which is currently three to five days behind — is expected to be resolved and return to normal scheduling by next week.