"We see each other cutting the yard, and I might go cut my neighbor's yard," resident Harold Stephen said.
That pride makes the prevalence of illegal dumping in his neighborhood is exhausting.
"It looks good when I cut the yard then you turn the corner and it's all raggedy," Stephen said.
According to 13 Investigates' findings, in 2023, under then-Mayor Sylvester Turner, 5,296 311 requests were made to the city, and Houston police issued 444 citations.
However, in 2024, the first year of Mayor John Whitmire's term, the numbers aren't good, even though his office has previously said they are aggressively pursuing illegal dumping.
Records show in 2024, more people were reporting illegal dumping than the previous year, with 9,111 311 requests, but HPD only issued 37 citations.
Solid Waste issued 130 citations in 2024, but before that, it did not enforce the code.
"When you're passing by, you'll see trash all this way and that way," Stephen said.
According to TSU professor of urban planning and environmental policy Dr. Robert Bullard, illegal dumping happens at a disproportionate rate in low-income communities.
"It's not just low-income neighborhoods. It's neighborhoods that people associate with. It's OK to dump, and we say no," Bullard said.
Those living here agree that more needs to be done to make their communities not just easier on the eyes but safer and cleaner.
"He needs to tighten up, you know, help the community...it's a major problem, man," Sunnyside resident Ronald Hampton said.
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