HOUSTON, Texas – For nearly a month, residents in Houston have been complaining about their overflowing recycling bins.
KPRC 2’s Joy Addison first reported the news on June 19, highlighting residents in the Spring Branch area who expressed their frustrations on Nextdoor and Facebook, sharing photos and seeking help as their recycling bins overflowed.
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Some residents said it had been weeks or even months since they last received a pick-up.
In response to the issues, the City of Houston’s Solid Waste Department cited that 46 trucks in the city’s aging fleet are currently inoperable. A purchase of 34 new trucks has been approved, but officials say it could take six to eight months before those vehicles are operational.
Since our coverage, we’ve received dozens of calls and emails from viewers who are going through a similar issue.
On Facebook and our website, we asked our viewers to share with us their experience and zip code so we can track the problem.
The post has since received nearly 300 comments, 14 shares, and 100 likes. More than 150 Houstonians living in more than 50 zip codes are having recycling issues.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire released the following statement about the reported delays in recycling pickups:
“Solid Waste Management apologizes for the delays in service. Mayor Whitmire shares residents’ frustration and believes these delays are unacceptable. The mayor has appointed new leadership at the department and has full confidence in Interim Director Larius Hassen to evaluate all options and lead efforts to build a more reliable and efficient service model.
Curbside recycling collection is running two weeks behind schedule this week. All A-week schedules are being collected this week. Starting next week, recycling will return to its regular schedule on June 30."
Do you still have your recycling bin out untouched? For how long? Let us know and send us your zip code. We're tracking wait times in different neighborhoods across the Houston area.
Posted by KPRC2 / Click2Houston on Tuesday, June 24, 2025
The area with the most complaints is the Spring Branch neighborhood (area code 77080), which we covered on June 19. Seventeen residents responded to the post, with most reporting that they have been dealing with a backlog of recycling bins for weeks.
Other problematic areas include Southeast Houston (77015), East Little York (77016), South Park (77033), Westbury (77035), Southwest near Fort Bend (77053), and Southeast (77087). Each area code had over seven residents reporting ongoing recycling issues.
Most residents reported waiting for recycling trucks for over a week, with many experiencing delays of several weeks to months.