Houston's You Call, We Haul Program

Rebekah A. Hall

Houston -- Facing a budget shortfall of $150 million, Houston's mayor is implementing a solid waste pickup plan that will hopefully save $150,000 to $300,000, if implemented citywide. The program, "You Call, We Haul," will allow residents to phone the city when they have heavy, bulky items to be collected instead of providing regular once per month collection. After calls are placed, the city expects to have items removed within five days. This past year, the budget for heavy trash pickup was $4.7 million. However, the city reports that its biggest cost savings will result from layoffs of approximately 20,000 workers.