City of Houston to test trash tax

HOUSTON — A new study begins this week in the city of Houston to determine whether residents should pay fees for their trash and recycling services. The study is expected to last four to six months. It will examine the solid waste department as a whole, how it operates financially and whether any costs should be passed on to consumers.

It’s a topic that never lacks complaints in Houston.

“If you drive through the neighborhood, you’ll see a lot of cans overflowing onto the street,” Cindy Case said in a January interview with KHOU 11.

When we looked at 311 data, we found that this situation wasn’t the only one. Last year, there were 20,222 complaints filed with 311 about recycling violations in the city of Houston. That’s an average of 55 complaints per day.

Solid Waste Director Mark Wilfalk said services have increased, but funding has not.

“If you look at what’s happening today versus what was happening 20 years ago, there was no recycling, there was no weekly or monthly bulky waste pickup,” he said.

Wilfalk thinks it’s time for a tax on household waste. The idea has already been rejected, but the city council recently gave the department the green light to launch a study.

Garbage collection fees in other Texas cities range from $15 to $50. KHOU 11 asked Wilfalk what Houston’s figure should be.

“I’m not sure, it’s too early to say now,” Wilkfalk said.

If the tax is not passed, he said, the department will not have enough funding to maintain the level of service Houston demands.

“We’re going to be in the same situation, the media is going to continue to go after frustrated customers, it’s going to be the same cyclical cycle,” he said. “We’ll be like hamsters in a wheel.”

Once the rate study is complete, the city council will vote on it. If the proposal passes, it will appear on your water bill. There is already a solid waste hauling fee that is a few dollars. The garbage removal fee will be added to that.

KHOU 11 on social networks: Facebook | X | Instagram | YouTube