The Waxahachie Dumpster Monopoly Lawsuit

I’m Suing the City of Waxahachie. Here’s Why.

In December 2025, the City of Waxahachie began ordering contractors to stop using my dumpsters — threatening $2,000-per-day fines and permit delays until they swapped my containers out for ones from the national waste company the city handed an exclusive franchise. Nothing was wrong with my dumpsters or my service. The city simply has a financial stake in my competitor.

Under that exclusive franchise, only one company is allowed to rent roll-off construction dumpsters inside city limits — and the city collects a share of that company’s revenue. Every time the city shuts down a competitor like me, it’s protecting its own income. My customers are happy with my service; the city isn’t acting on a single complaint.

The Texas Constitution says monopolies “are contrary to the genius of a free government, and shall never be allowed” (Article I, Section 26). So on June 24, 2026, I joined with the Institute for Justice to file suit: American AF Dumpster Rentals LLC v. City of Waxahachie.

What This Case Is Really About

This isn’t just about dumpsters. Cities across Texas run the same playbook — grant a national corporation an exclusive franchise, take a cut of the revenue, and use inspectors and permits to shut out local operators. A win here sets a precedent for every independent hauler and small business owner in the state.

I built American AF Dumpsters from a $4,000 cargo trailer and a Craigslist ad after COVID killed my 16-year limousine business. Nobody handed me a franchise agreement. I’m not asking for special treatment — just the right to compete.

This Is Bigger Than One City: The Texas Waste Freedom Project

When I started digging into Waxahachie’s ordinance, I found the same setup in city after city. So I built the Texas Waste Freedom Project — a public database that reports and tracks Texas municipalities with exclusive waste franchises, construction dumpster restrictions, and franchise fees, along with the enforcement tactics they use against independent operators and their customers. So far it tracks 40 cities, 19 of them rated as fully exclusive markets, each backed by ordinances, contracts, public records, and field reports.

Some of the most aggressive enforcement documented in the database so far:

  • Greenville — the city’s exclusive hauler had an operator’s dumpster impounded off private property, then sued the operator for $6,066 in county court, according to a submitted notice and court filing.
  • Grand Prairie — a city specialist emailed calling containers on a private commercial site “unauthorized,” demanded removal “by the end of today,” and warned of “increased enforcement.”
  • Mesquite — Notices of Violation call outside containers “unauthorized” and reference a $400 impound fee plus $10/day storage.
  • Allen — a June 2026 “Notice to Correct Violations” ordered a non-franchise container removed; the exclusive provider then reportedly took about two weeks to deliver a replacement.
  • Midlothian — a city inspector issued a stop-work order until the contractor removed an independent dumpster and switched to the city’s franchise hauler, according to a field report.

Seen this happen in your city? Report a restriction and it gets researched, documented, and added to the tracker.

Watch: The Story in My Own Words

Case Resources

Media Inquiries

I’m available for interviews — on-camera, phone, or podcast, on-site in Waxahachie/DFW or remote, with job-site access and b-roll available. Reach out through the contact page, or grab bio and photos from the media page. Legal questions go to the Institute for Justice — their media contacts are on the case page above.

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