Four days after a request for comment was filed with Whitmire\u2019s office last week, spokesman Alvaro Ortiz sent an email saying trash pickup collection times have \u201cimproved significantly\u201d since the monthly fee was implemented; complaints about trash pickup operations \u201chave gone down significantly;\u201d and Houston Public Works is \u201cin the process of scoping and determining equipment needs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whitmire said<\/a> in May that state law mandates that cities can\u2019t provide a utility without assessing a charge, so when he proposed to move Solid Waste under the water utility fund, he did so with the $5 administration fee, saying that \u201cwe\u2019re not going to do what I would call a genuine garbage fee until we can improve services.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n How long that will take is anybody\u2019s guess. The fee is expected to rise incrementally in future years and could spike to $25 a month by 2031, pending council approval.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last week, the Houston Press talked to three council members \u2014 Joe Panzarella, Edward Pollard and Alejandra Salinas \u2014 who agreed the Solid Waste Department is underfunded and the city should be able to provide the most basic of services.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, self-described progressives Panzarella and Salinas, both of whom took office earlier this year, appear hopeful that the recently adopted budget signifies a long-term investment in improved solid waste service.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pollard, who cast the only vote against Whitmire\u2019s budget, has for the past three years used district funds on a third-party service to pick up bulky trash for his constituents.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t wait on the city,\u201d he says. \u201cWe pay contractors to be on a certain schedule, or when we need on-call service, we schedule that with the neighborhoods. It\u2019s unfortunate that we have to do that because the city hasn\u2019t been able to provide the service in a reliable way, but I think it\u2019s the modern approach to constituent services.\u201d<\/p>\n Owers concedes that over the past three months, garbage trucks have arrived on time in her neighborhood on Monday mornings, but sometimes they leave bags behind, and she doesn\u2019t think the recent consistency has any direct link to the fee approved in June.\u00a0<\/p>\n She\u2019s right, says Salinas.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere are no specific commitments from the administration of improved reliability, although we hope we are working in that direction,\u201d Salinas says. \u201cAs the administration\u2019s own studies reflected, the fee would need to be significantly increased before we\u2019re going to realize some of the major improvements in quality and reliability of collection.\u201d<\/p>\n The status quo is unacceptable, she added. \u201cIt is unacceptable that we have not been able to meet that standard, and myself and others are committed to doing everything we can to get there,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Long-Term Investment<\/p>\n Whitmire\u2019s budget was controversial as soon as it was unveiled<\/a> because critics had difficulty understanding how it would address a $180 million deficit just by moving money around rather than generating enough new revenue to address the problem. Pollard says \u201cthere is no plan to address these issues, financially and from a service standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll we hear from the mayor is, \u2018Trust me.\u201d After a while, your words only mean so much. The actions speak much louder,\u201d Pollard says.\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to approving the trash fee in June, council members agreed to move the $134 million Solid Waste fund under the utility system, which is largely supplemented by tax revenue. Under the new structure, trash pickup is funded by water revenues that critics say should be going toward much needed drainage projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pollard says that most people don\u2019t care about the details of how the city\u2019s organizational chart is structured; they just want their trash picked up on time. \u201cThe expectation that your trash is going to get improved based on paying five dollars is not reality,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Whitmire said during budget hearings that planned improvements include restructuring operations, optimizing existing routes and providing leadership training. Fleet and equipment upgrades and expanded recycling and composting services are among the department\u2019s long-term goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n Public Works Director Randy Macchi, who now oversees Solid Waste, did not respond to requests for comment from the Press last week but has said that Solid Waste could be a \u201crevenue-generating machine\u201d if the city gets all five of its transfer stations \u2014 where city trucks drop trash to be transported to the landfill \u2014 up and running.\u00a0<\/p>\n Contractors with Republic Services give the city a cut of the revenue generated, but only three of the transfer stations are currently operational. If that system meets its full potential, there will be no need to raise the fee beyond $5 a month, Macchi said in May.\u00a0<\/p>\n Macchi, an attorney, was appointed to his role in November 2024, at which time Houston amended its ordinance that previously required the Public Works director to be a registered professional engineer.\u00a0<\/p>\n As Houston leaders try to address the problems, the complaints keep rolling in. Last year, more than 36,604 calls were made to Houston 311 about late trash pickup, representing the No. 1 complaint made to the non-emergency line.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Illegal-dumping.png\")
An illegal dumping site near Antoine Drive was neglected for months earlier this year. Credit: Screenshot<\/p>\n