Houston is expanding its multifamily recycling pilot program in an effort to bring more reliable recycling services to a growing part of the city’s population.

The project to expand multifamily recycling, first launched in September, is testing several collection and education methods in a range of apartment buildings. It’s funded by a grant from The Recycling Partnership and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste.

Around 1,334 units are already enrolled, and the city’s Solid Waste Management Department plans to add services for 500 more units this month. By the end of the pilot in late 2026, about 3,000 units across 12 properties are expected to have recycling services, according to The Recycling Partnership.

Houston’s multifamily housing population is growing, but recycling resources for them are not, according to Houston officials and environmental groups.

About 1 million Houston residents — about half the city’s population — now live in apartments or other multifamily units, according to Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas. That number is expected to hit 1.6 million by 2040, he wrote in a recent blog post.

The Recycling Partnership estimates that 20% of multifamily households in Texas have recycling access, and in Houston, that’s limited to just a “handful of properties.” Houston SWMD estimates about 15% of the city’s waste comes from such units.

Looming landfill capacity issues are also at play, Houston SWMD officials noted during a March 31 update to City Council. The nearby McCarty landfill is expected to reach capacity in the next nine years, prompting the city to do more to increase recycling efforts as it also plans to shift waste to other facilities, officials said in their presentation.

City Council member Abbie Kamin spearheaded the multifamily recycling initiative, which was established in a 2021 budget amendment. Grant support from the The Recycling Partnership and Alliance to End Plastic Waste helped finally launch the program in September 2025. The two organizations help cover costs related to technical assistance and education, as well as collection crews, recycling containers and other operational costs, Kamin’s office told Community Impact in October.

Read the full article about expanding multifamily recycling by Megan Quinn at Smart Cities Dive.