HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — One minute, Bo Price’s trash bin was at the curb waiting to be picked up, and the next, it was gone.
“It basically dropped into the truck and the driver took off with the bin,” Price told 13 Investigates.
Price said he was working from home on July 10 when he noticed the issue with his bin and called 311 that day to let them know he needed a new one.
“They said, ‘Look, from here on, we’ll get you a trash can as soon as possible, but until then, they’re just going to pick up your bags on the side of the road, and they’ll come as normal,’ and that’s what we expected,'” Price said.
But six weeks after he said a City of Houston garbage truck ate his bin, his wife is seen on video he took pleading with a city worker to take the two bags of trash they left out because they still didn’t have a can.
The video shows the driver driving off without the trash.
Issues with the City of Houston’s Solid Waste Department’s trash and recycling pickup have been ongoing for months.
City records show tens of thousands of people have been reporting delays for their scheduled weekly pickups — something the city has blamed on aging trucks.
SEE ALSO: New Houston solid waste trucks going into service to improve pickups, city says
Now, 13 Investigates uncovered another widespread issue related to trash, which is people requesting new bins from the city and waiting weeks to get them.
13 Investigates found, as of Tuesday afternoon, there were 4,385 open requests with 311 for people who need a trash bin, which includes replacement bins and new resident bins.
Another 2,328 requests to 311 are open for people who need a recycling bin.
Price said for weeks, he and his wife have been calling 311 to request a new bin. He said they were even told they were put on a priority list, but when we interviewed them on Aug. 21, they still didn’t have a bin.
“My mother-in-law is driving bags of trash down to Sugar Land, depositing them in her trash bins. (It’s) not really a sustainable solution,” Price said.
My mother-in-law is driving bags of trash down to Sugar Land.
13 Investigates spoke with three people who reported missing trash bins to 311, including Stephan Hillerbrand, who lives in the Shepherd Park Plaza neighborhood.
He said he needs a new bin because one day the entire bottom of his fell out.
“We noticed it because when the garbage truck came and pulled (it), all the garbage fell onto the street,” he said. “They went through the motions of the can going in, but all the trash was there, and we had to pick it up.”
Records from 311 show Hillerbrand put in a request for a new bin at the end of July, but when we stopped by his home last week, he didn’t have a bin.
He said he’s been asking neighbors to use theirs for weeks.
“It should be pretty easy, I think, wouldn’t it, to replace a trash can, right?” he said.
13 Investigates learned of at least three locations where new bins should be stored.
We drove by the locations to see if supply was a contributing factor to the lag in residents getting their bin requests fulfilled.
At one location, we saw several stacks of what appeared to be new bins, and at another location, there appeared to be thousands of bins stacked up.
Hillerbrand said he already knew about one of those locations, because it’s just a five-minute drive from his house.
He said five years ago, when he needed a new bin, he drove to that Solid Waste facility and asked to swap it out, but was told that he had to go through 311 to have a new bin delivered.
“I could easily put the old bin in my car and drive and get a new bin so we could help the city out,” Hillerbrand said. “That’s Houston. We always help each other out when there’s a hurricane or a flood. We’re always helping out, so if they’re short-staffed, (we can help).”
ABC13 reached out to Houston’s Solid Waste Department and asked for an interview, but instead, they answered our questions in writing.
They told us containers are delivered daily in order of the oldest to the most recent service request.
When we asked if the city would be open to residents picking up bins from city facilities themselves, the city said, under new leadership, they are evaluating and adjusting the delivery program.
“Solid Waste Management is seeing more requests for containers, including from new subdivisions and homes under construction,” Solid Waste Management Department Director Larius Hassan said in a statement to 13 Investigates. “In the last month, about 1,596 new homes were added to the system, and an additional 7,080 homes in various stages of construction will be coming online soon, adding to the demand.”
The city says residents who do not have a bin at all are encouraged to tell 311 they don’t have a bin, which will allow the city to make arrangements for their trash to still be picked up.
Price said that’s what he did when he called 311.
ABC13 asked the city about Price and Hillerbrand’s need for trash bins at 1:15 p.m. last Thursday and provided them with their addresses, as well as questions about the bin replacement process.
Two hours later, both homeowners told us the city delivered them a new bin.
“If it’s as simple as loading these things up in a truck and getting it out to the community, I think we should hold them accountable for that,” Price said.
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