Why is recycling in Houston delayed? Not enough trucks, staffing woes, inefficient routes and more | Houston Public Media

Out-of-service trucks, contaminated trash mixed with recyclable materials, staffing shortages and a single depot with long wait times — these are among the contributing factors to the often days-long delays in recycling pickup across Houston.

“It is a challenge right now because of resources,” Larius Hassan told a city council committee last week, hours after he was confirmed as the new director of the solid waste department.

Problems with the solid waste department generate the most 311 complaints in the city. Of about 53,000 open 311 cases on Monday, about 24,000 concerned solid waste issues.

Calls about missed recycling pickups are soaring upwards, with nearly 15,000 complaints about missed recycling over the past 12 weeks compared to about 4,000 during the same span in 2024. Missed garbage complaints over the same timeframes held steady, with about 9,500 calls during those 12 weeks from year to year.

The department’s fleet includes 219 trucks, but Hassan said upwards of half of them are often out of service. About a third of the vehicles are over seven years old with more than 150,000 miles.

“We’re seeing breakdowns on a daily basis,” Hassan said.

On Wednesday, the city council will vote to allocate about $12.5 million for new trucks, which a spokesperson for the department said will purchase 25 additional vehicles. Hassan said the department needs about 70 more trucks. He also said the department needs to hire 30 additional drivers.

In an effort to become more efficient and improve service delivery, the solid waste department is “rebalancing” decade-old garbage and recycling pickup routes to account for population shifts.

Hassan said more public education is needed about what is and isn’t recyclable because high contamination rates lead to frequent rejections at the recycling plant, which increases costs and time for those loads. About 40% of a typical load is contaminated, and the plant rejects loads that are about 60% contaminated.

Heavy trash pickup is currently delayed by two weeks. Yard waste is also delayed, and the department is picking it up with heavy trash. Hassan said the department will run an on-demand pilot program for those services, rather than continuing to run routes on a delayed basis.

The solid waste department depends on revenue from the city’s $3 billion general fund, which faces chronic deficits. City officials often discuss implementing a trash fee to boost funding for the department.

Hassan expressed enthusiasm for that model during the committee meeting.

“When you can adequately staff your team, and you have the equipment that you need to go out and do a job, it makes the whole world easy,” Hassan said.

As Mayor John Whitmire’s administration sought to chip away at a daunting budget deficit, the department’s budget was slashed from $107 million to $101 million in the 2026 fiscal year, which started in July. Twenty-one employees participated in Whitmire’s voluntary retirement buyout program, which Hassan said “almost crippled” one service area.

“If we’re going to have a solid waste department, and we’re going to offer this service to our constituents, we have to fund it at what the optimum cost of service is,” Council Member Sallie Alcorn said at the committee meeting.