Houston tries to keep up with trash bin requests during 'Can Blitz'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — As Bobby Bates pulled his beat-up trash can out of the back of his car, the can’s one remaining wheel fell off.

“It fell apart, piece by piece,” Bates said.

Bates asked the City of Houston to fix his trash can last year, according to 311 records.

His wife said she called 311 several times trying to get the city to deliver a new one to their home in Huffman, but eventually gave in and went to the City’s “Can Blitz,” which offers residents the opportunity to pick up a can themselves.

“You shouldn’t have to. It’s not our job. We’re residents,” Bates said.

Houston launched its ‘Can Blitz’ in September after 13 Investigates highlighted the backlog of people waiting on trash and recycling bins to be delivered, which was the only way to get a replacement at the time.

ABC13 spoke with residents who said they needed a can because theirs disappeared into the garbage truck, and they were without one completely, or their bins suffered general wear and tear over the years.

At the start of the blitz, there were about 5,000 pending requests for trash and recycling bins, according to the mayor.

The blitzes were well attended when they were first launched, but the calls to 311 for a new bin didn’t drop drastically. In fact, they’ve remained fairly consistent.

Residents need a 311 case number in order to pick up a can from the blitz, so we’re told people started putting in new requests.

Now, six months into the program, 311 data shows there are still 7,410 open requests for the trash and recycling cans, which includes nearly 2,000 requests from new residents who need a bin.

More than half of the 7,410 requests that are open were called into 311 in the first few months of this year.

“I think the process of just coming over here to pick up the trash can is probably the better option,” Stephanie Neilson said.

Neilson said she put in a request for a can at her new home and waited a week for it to be delivered. When it wasn’t, she went to the blitz.

“If putting in a request is going to take a long time, we can just get rid of the bottleneck, and you can just come pick it up yourself if you have the option, because hopefully it fits in my trunk,” Neilson said.

13 Investigates wanted to know how much each request for a new trash and recycling can costs the city.

Residents in Houston don’t pay a specific trash and recycling fee and residents aren’t charged for the new bins they’re picking up.

Solid Waste tells us the brown trash can is $49.68, and the green recycling bin is $51.98, so to clear the entire can backlog would cost the city about $376,800.

The “Can Blitz” is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. The three locations for the blitz are 5614 Neches Street, 1506 Central Street, and 11500 South Post Oak Road.

In order to pick up a replacement can from the blitz, residents will need their 311 service request number, a copy of their water bill and their damaged can, if they have it.

Contact 13 Investigates

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Houston tries to keep up with trash bin requests during ‘Can Blitz’

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