Category: Health and Safety

Don’t Mess With Texas 2.0

Posted on by Don Ryan

The littering laws have changed September 1, 2017.  Here they are:

Littering is against the law and you can be fined up to $500 for trash less than or equal to five pounds or five gallons (as you may have seen on those blue Don’t mess with Texas signs). Repeat the offense, and you could face a fine of up to $2,000 and 180 days in jail.

It gets worse.

Discarding trash that weighs more than five pounds is considered illegal dumping and carries even steeper fines. In Texas, failing to cover your pickup-truck load is against the law and carries a fine of up to $200 for the first offense and $500 for repeat offenders.

Any law enforcement officer in Texas can enforce these laws.

These violations are Class C and B Misdemeanors, respectively. More than 5 pounds of trash can carry as much as a $2000 fine and/or 180 days in jail.

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More to the point, we have residents here who fall under these categories of littering/dumping. Someone dropped a twin bed mattress and box spring on our common property, not near their house, but dumped it where it most certainly does not belong. We have had problems with illegal dumping here for a while. The City does get involved and we will continue to pursue these individuals.

We spend a lot of man hours cleaning up trash tossed out on the parking areas and common property here.  Some of it comes from people driving though the complex using it as a “cut”.  Please help us keep our community clean and free from trash on the grass and parking areas.

Health and Safety, Littering

Uncapped Needles, Again?

Posted on by Don Ryan - 4 Comments

The “pen” pictured below was placed into a plastic trash bag yesterday without the needle being capped. I am a diabetic and have used this type of device before; each pen needle comes with a cap. It does not require a lot of effort to cap the needle after use.  This used needle is a bio-hazard and must be disposed of properly. This is definitely not “properly”.

We have already had one of our guys stuck by an uncapped needle and he had to undergo a bunch of anti-viral medications to prevent infection. These medications made him ill for weeks. This is a prime example of negligent behavior and violates Health and Safety as detailed in Texas Property Code 209.

I am incredulous that someone would believe it to be OK to toss this into a plastic trash bag. The offending party will be issued a fine.

Health and Safety, Medical Sharps

Still More Glass in Plastic Trash Bags

Posted on by Don Ryan - 2 Comments

This is probably the worst one so far, large pieces of a broken mirror in a trash bag. We do know where it came from because we are watching for it every trash day.  The bag is next to the tire on the HOA truck, with a 16″ diameter wheel on it.  The piece of broken mirror is almost the same length.  There were more pieces in the plastic bag, but this one poked through just as you see it. The photo to the right shows the size if the broken mirror piece.  There is no rational explanation as to why someone would do this, because they had to see it protruding out of the bag itself, other than they just do not care.  It could easily have cut one of the guys very badly.

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Broken Glass, Health and Safety

More Broken Glass in Plastic Trash Bags

Posted on by Don Ryan - 2 Comments - Updated

Despite several mentions of this issue in the past 2 or 3 Informational Notices sent out to all homeowners and addresses, we continue to get broken glass, mirrors and other sharp items put into plastic garbage bags. A few weeks ago, we found a steak knife in a plastic trash bag, only because the blade end poked all the way out of the bag. This could easily have seriously injured one of our employees.

On Monday someone put a broken mirror in a plastic bag, the larger pieces of which poked out of the bag. Had there been any information in the bag with an address on it, the culprit would have been fined.  Shortly after the broken mirror, we found another trash bag, this time with pieces of broken window glass in it. We were able to identify where this bag came from and that individual was fined.

Any broken glass must be placed into a box and the box needs to be securely closed.

Health and Safety, Trash Pickup

Broken Glass and Uncapped Syringes in Plastic Trash Bags

Posted on by Don Ryan - 4 Comments

Despite several notices sent out to all residents about broken glass and uncapped syringes in trash bags, we had an incident this morning where one of our maintenance guys received a 2″-2 /12″ cut on his leg because a homeowner put broken glass into a plastic trash bag. Common sense would indicate that broken glass should be contained in a manner so as not to injure another person and failing to do so is willful negligence.  The homeowner admitted they put glass in the bag, something they normally would not do.

As a reminder, all broken glass, bottles, window panes, mirrors or other broken and jagged glass materials MUST be in a box that is securely taped closed. We have sent out sufficient warnings; any further instances of broken glass in plastic trash bags will result in an appropriate fine to the responsible party.

If this was not bad enough, from the very same street where the broken glass in the trash bag originated, we had another trash bag with 5 or 6 uncapped syringes and needles used with Insulin pens. This is also negligent and one of the guys got stuck by an uncapped syringe.

I am diabetic and I understand the concept of a bio-hazard. Not only do I cap all of my used syringes/pen needles, I also put them in a coffee can and secure the lid. It is the reasonable and responsible thing to do. And yet, we have had several instances of our residents not even bothering to put the cap back on the sharp end. This is a Health and Safety violation and can result in fines pursuant to Texas Property Code, Section 209.006.

 

Health and Safety, Trash Pickup