Harris County sues to force WM to clean up landfill in Carverdale

Houston Chronicle · Rebekah F. Ward · 2026-10-13 18:37 UTC

Contamination from the Hawthorn Park Landfill has raised concern among Carverdale residents for decades. Harris County is now suing the landfill’s owners.

Harris County filed a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court to force trash collection giant Waste Management to mitigate pollution from its longstanding Hawthorn Park landfill in Carverdale, and shutter the site for good.

The suit, filed against local subsidiary USA Waste of Texas Landfills, Inc., accuses the company of being "unable or unwilling to control the methane emitting from the Hawthorn Landfill" and resisting "the county’s efforts to determine what contaminants are present in the soil and water."

A group of about 20 Carverdale residents gathered Tuesday afternoon to witness County Attorney Abbie Kamin's announcement. Many had been fighting the landfill for years, worried it was contributing to a concentration of cancers and other illnesses in the historically Black neighborhood. In 2024, their efforts helped stymie the company's attempt to expand the landfill's footprint.

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