Owners fed up with illegal dumps of their businesses in East Houston

HOUSTON. Along the Old Clinton Road in East Houston, illegal dumping has frustrated business owners and forced them to seek help.

Even after cleaning, there is a long way to go.

“This rubbish is damaging your property. I mean it turns your customers off,” Jay Hicks said.

From his side of the street, Hicks looks more like a junkyard.

“Bathtubs, beds, box springs, washing machines, dryers, couches… whatever,” Hicks said.

Hicks said there has been a growing problem since he started doing business there last year. He had to do a lot of work to get the city trucks to come and pick up some of the garbage for the first time.

“For the last three months, I know for sure that I called and asked for help. But it was necessary to write a letter to the mayor’s office, HOU, to the railway,” he said.

They came on Thursday, but Hicks said it wasn’t enough.

“It should have happened a few months ago. They should have sent someone… answered our calls, answered our emails and just said, ‘We’ll send someone’… dealt with the situation,” he said.

Hick said he spent $7,000 of his own money to try and fix the situation. He said that he even filed a police report because of several huge pipes recently dumped by an illegal dump truck.

“I was shocked. I just, I couldn’t… I couldn’t understand how he did it and why,” Hicks said.

He asks the city for help in clearing the road. He also addresses the people who are sacking the city and urges them to be proud.

“This is Houston. I mean, this is our city. We need to keep it clean,” Hicks said.

Houston police said they were aware of the pipes that were dropped on Thursday and their environmental crime unit will investigate.