Women In Community Service Inc.

''Heavy Trash Woes''

Jan 27, 2000

Women In Community Service Inc. in cooperation with the Glen Lee Citizens On Patrol is attending to the ongoing problem that seems to plague this area concering heavy trash. Residents have long had to drive past huge piles of trees and debris that have been waiting to be removed for months.

The problem seems to be two-fold. First, we have the problem of our contracted trash hauler not having the heavy equipment to pick up large and heavy amounts of trash. He is limited to the space afforded by his regular trash trucks which normally accomodate only the regular household trash. When large piles of trash remain for extended periods of time, they seem to attract other trash. Persons from outside (and sadly, also from within) the community looking for a place to dump, find it very easy to quickly relieve themselves of their trashy burden by dumping on top of an old, spreading pile. As the pile grows, it becomes harder to fit into a regular trash truck and the contractor puts it off longer and longer. You can see the natural direction of these events.

Second,those residents who have tried to do the right thing by having their heavy trash in front of their homes on Thursdays have become disillusioned over the years by having to watch it sit there for weeks and sometimes months. What happens after it finally gets picked up and they have another large pile of trash is...Fearing that they will have to wait an extended amount of time to get the next pile of heavy items picked up, they opt to put it somewhere other than in front of their homes. By doing so, the homeowner has given the trash contractor an excuse not to pick it up. By definition, that pile now becomes an "illegal dump" and is handled through Neighborhood Protection. Again, that pile attracts "drive-by dumping" and so the cycle continues.

In a recent meeting at Council member Mims-Galloway's office, several Polaroid pictures of the many problem piles of trash along our streets were discussed. The problem is being presented to the Contract Compliance Department and the performance of BFI/Purvis Disposal is being reviewed.

It is of the utmost importance that residents be made aware of the rules and regulations for proper disposal of residential garbage. For those residents who think it prudent to bring in trash from outside the neighborhood or those contractors who wish to shed their responsibility of cleaning up after themselves, read on. You are in violation of the City of Houston Code of Ordinances.

"The department shall not collect or accept bulky items, such as construction debris or debris from the trimming or removal of trees, unless generated by work performed by the residents of the property upon which the waste was generated.."

Placement for regular collection. "...collection services shall be limited to items placed at the curbline of a public street in front of or adjacent to the property upon which the waste was generated."

These are but the tip of the "trash pile" of problems that need to be resolved. With the cooperation of residents and a change in the way BFI/Purvis conducts their pickups we will hopefully be seeing some positive results very soon.