Plastic Pollution In Houston: A City Covered?

Houston's plastic waste is piling up, with the city collecting 250 tons of plastic since the end of 2022, but almost none of it has been recycled yet. The city has an innovative new program that can recycle any type of plastic, but environmental groups are sceptical of its claims. The Houston region's rapidly growing plastics industry is also increasing air pollution and safety risks, with nearly two-thirds of plants violating air pollution limits over the last five years.

Houston's plastic waste is piling up, with little being recycled

Houston's plastics industry is rapidly growing, and with it, air pollution and safety risks are increasing. A report by the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project found 90 plants that manufacture plastics or plastic ingredients in the Houston/Port Arthur region. Nearly two-thirds of these plants violated air pollution limits over the last five years, and 20% were cited for failing to follow federal disaster management planning requirements. In 2017, these plants emitted 55,704 tons of potentially health-damaging pollutants.

An additional 45 plastics-related expansion or plant construction projects in the Houston region are proposed but not yet built, and three new expansions were completed in 2018 for which emissions data are not yet available. It is unclear how much air pollution will rise from these new projects, but permit documents for a third of them authorise emissions of up to an additional 14,192 tons of pollution annually.

Wright Waste Management, a company that has been on file as a cardboard recycler since 2016, recently submitted a "notice of intent" to operate a municipal solid waste recycling facility. Their application revealed a plan to store as much as 2.2 million pounds of plastic waste and a request to exceed time limits for plastic waste storage. This application is currently under review. In the meantime, plastic waste collected from Houston residents is being stored indefinitely at Wright Waste Management.

Houston's plastic industry is increasing air pollution and safety risks

Houston's plastic waste is piling up, with the city saying it has collected 250 tons of plastic since the end of 2022, but almost none of it has been recycled yet. The city of Houston says it has an innovative new program that can recycle any type of plastic, calling it a model for the nation, but environmental groups say the results leave much to be desired. Brandy Deason, a climate justice coordinator for Air Alliance Houston, has been adding tracking devices when she bags up her plastics for recycling. The tracker showed her bags ended up at a storage site — not a recycling centre.

The Houston region's rapidly growing plastics industry is significantly increasing air pollution and safety risks. A review of state and federal records by the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project found 90 plants that manufacture plastics or the ingredients of plastics in the Houston/Port Arthur region. Nearly two-thirds of these plants (57 of 90) violated air pollution limits over the last five years, and 20% (19 of the 90) were cited by the EPA for failing to follow federal disaster management planning requirements over the last five years. In terms of total pollution released, the 90 plastics-related plants in the Houston area emitted 55,704 tons of potentially health-damaging pollutants in 2017, the most recent year for which data are available.

An additional 45 plastics-related expansion or plant construction projects in the Houston region are proposed but not yet built, and three new expansions were completed in 2018 for which emissions data are not yet available. It is not yet clear how much air pollution will rise from all of these 48 new Houston-area plastics industry projects. However, permit documents are available for a third of the projects (16/48), and these would authorise emissions of up to an additional 14,192 tons of pollution annually, according to documents on file with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

Dr. Bakeyah Nelson, Executive Director of Air Alliance Houston, said that public officials must prepare for the rapid growth of the plastics industry and work to protect local public health.

Houston's recycling program is not meeting expectations

Brandy Deason, a climate justice coordinator for Air Alliance Houston, has been adding tracking devices when she bags up her plastics for recycling. She was skeptical of Houston's program and its claims that it could recycle any type of plastic. The tracker showed her bags ended up at a storage site — not a recycling center. Deason said she doesn't think the average person in Houston is aware that this is where their recycling ends up. "I think that they've gotten the idea that it's being taken care of and being recycled," she said.

The city says it has collected 250 tons of plastic since the end of 2022, but almost none of it has been recycled yet. Houston partnered with ExxonMobil and other companies to perform "advanced recycling," which they say can handle the recycling of any type of plastic. But critics say "advanced recycling" may not be a viable solution and is a talking point used by the petro-chemical industry to keep consumers buying and using plastic guilt-free.

Houston's recycling program is facing delays, resulting in overflowing bins and resident complaints about missed collections. According to the city’s 311 service, complaints about missed recycling pickups have surged. In the first 10 days of 2025 alone, nearly 1,000 complaints were logged, signaling a significant issue with the program’s reliability. City officials, including the director of the Houston Solid Waste Management Department, Mark Wilfalk, acknowledge the problem but say the city’s rapid growth has outpaced the department’s ability to keep up with demand. The director insists that without additional funding, the city cannot improve the recycling service.

Houston's plastic waste is being stored indefinitely

Houston has claimed that it has a program that can recycle any type of plastic, calling it a model for the nation. However, Deason said she doesn't think the average person in Houston is aware that their recycling ends up in storage. She added tracking devices to her plastics for recycling and found that they ended up at a storage site.

The city says it has collected 250 tons of plastic since the end of 2022, but almost none of it has been recycled yet. Wright Waste Management has submitted a "notice of intent" to operate a municipal solid waste recycling facility, with a plan to store as much as 2.2 million pounds of plastic waste. The application has not been approved and is under review.

The Houston region's rapidly growing plastics industry is also increasing air pollution and safety risks. A review of state and federal records found 90 plants that manufacture plastics or plastic ingredients in the Houston/Port Arthur region. Nearly two-thirds of these plants violated air pollution limits over the last five years, and 20% were cited by the EPA for failing to follow federal disaster management planning requirements.

Houston's plastic waste is being stored at a storage site, not a recycling centre

Houston's plastic waste is piling up at a storage site, not a recycling centre, despite the city's claims that it has an innovative new program that can recycle any type of plastic. According to Brandy Deason, a climate justice coordinator for Air Alliance Houston, the tracker she added to her bags of plastics for recycling showed that they ended up at a storage site, not a recycling centre.

The city of Houston says that it has collected 250 tons of plastic since the end of 2022, but almost none of it has been recycled yet. This is due in part to the fact that Wright Waste Management, the company that collects plastic waste from Houston residents, has been storing it indefinitely. Wright Waste Management recently submitted a "notice of intent" to operate a municipal solid waste recycling facility, but the application has not yet been approved.

The rapid growth of Houston's plastics industry is also contributing to the problem. A report by the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project found 90 plants that manufacture plastics or plastic ingredients in the Houston/Port Arthur region, and nearly two-thirds of these plants violated air pollution limits over the last five years. An additional 45 plastics-related expansion or plant construction projects in the Houston region are proposed but not yet built, and it is unclear how much air pollution will rise as a result.

Overall, it is clear that Houston's plastic waste is not being properly recycled and is instead being stored at a storage site. The city of Houston needs to take action to address this issue and ensure that its plastic waste is being properly managed and recycled.

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