Pflugerville Residents Decry Illegal Dumping Sites In Their Midst

PFLUGERVILLE, TX — Some residents in Pflugerville are complaining of an illegal dumping ground in their midst characterized by unsightly — and potentially unhealthy — mounds of trash littering alleyways. Making matters worse is the perceived inaction of city officials to help mitigate the problem.

Fox 7 interviewed residents bearing the brunt of the problem given their proximity to the offending trash piles in Pflugerville. One such resident, Regina Greene, lives near one of the dumping sites where couches, mattresses, tires and rotten food are invariably piled high.

Greene said residents near the dumping ground are able to smell the mess even before encountering it. To mitigate the smell, some residents have taken to pick up some of the refuse run-off in disposing it properly, something she said should be done by city maintenance crews.

Adding insult to offending trash piles: The illegal dumpers aren't even neighbors but outside people essentially treating Pflugerville neighborhoods like their personal dumping grounds.

"They don't live here," Greene asserted in an interview with Fox 7. "They may have at one point in time, and know it's an easy place to get rid of their trash. But a lot of people come through here and dump their trash." said Greene.

Adding to her frustration is what she categorized a inaction by city officials: "They said they can see what they can do about it evidently the trash is still here," Greene told the news station.

Declining to be interviewed on camera, city officials instead issued a prepared statement:

"The city code enforcement has been working with homeowners in the Windermere subdivision as illegal dumping is taking place in the area. Residents there must sign up for trash service from the city to receive pickup. Code compliance is out in the neighborhood today working to provide information to neighbors about trash service requirements because of the nuisance violation caused by illegal dumping in the area.

"Typically, trash is included on the water and wastewater bill from the city and is a way to guarantee a resident will be registered for city of Pflugerville trash services. In this instance, water and wastewater are provided by a separate company, Windermere Utilities, and the bill is administered to customers in that area of Pflugerville. Trash service is not a part of the utility bill, but a separate service residents must sign up and pay to receive. The city is working to remedy the problem through education and enforcement through the code compliance division.”

That's not much comfort to Greene, who said the presence of vermin at the accumulated sites dramatically illustrates the potential health hazard: "For this area to get cleaned up, and stay cleaned up because right now we're dealing with varmints, rats, I mean everything you can think of," she said.

Meanwhile, the trash continues to pile up while residents' patience wears increasingly thinner.

To report illegal dumping to the city, residents are urged to call (512) 990.6100.

Read the full story at Fox 7

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