Houston spent $6.3M in waste management overtime last year, yet its trash and recycling trucks are always behind schedule. Here's why.
Marie D. De Jesús, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographerOn the last Tuesday of March, for example, the department was able to assign drivers to 88 percent of its garbage routes. The drivers in each service quadrant cover their routes, then band together at the end of the day to scoop the unmanned ones. They returned on Wednesday, which used to be their day off, to pick up the green bins left behind the day before, when the city was able to assign just 59 percent of its recycling routes.
Wilfalk recalled finding one overworked driver passed out in the yard shortly after he became director. City of Houston Solid Waste Dept. trash truck driver Anthony Senegal, 56, returns to the trash truck after accommodating a trash bin to be picked up by the truck’s mechanical arm, Tuesday, March 29, 2022, in Houston.A Westbury neighborhood resident approaches a trash can after being serviced by the City of Houston Solid Waste Dept., Tuesday, March 29, 2022, in Houston.City of Houston Solid Waste Dept.
“It’s really hard to stay self-motivated when you’re getting paid by the hour because the longer you’re out here, the more you get paid,” Cooper said. City of Houston Solid Waste Dept. trash truck driver Anthony Senegal, 56, embraces Westbury neighborhood resident Arlene Andrews, 92, before taking her trash bin to the truck, Tuesday, March 29, 2022, in Houston.On one memorable route near Missouri City, Cooper recalled, he unloaded a bin and saw a bundle of live puppies falling toward the compactor. He smacked the emergency stop button to avoid killing them and called a supervisor.Make sure there is at least a foot between bins.
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