In 2009, Austin became the first city in Texas to adopt a Zero Waste Strategic Plan. The plan set a goal of diverting 90 percent of waste away from landfills and incinerators by 2040. But Austin is not on track to meet that goal, according to an audit conducted by the Office of the City Auditor. In fact, the diversion rate of 37 percent in 2024 was less than the diversion rate 10 years earlier — 39.81 percent — according to the report.
Members of the City Council Audit & Finance Committee are scheduled to consider the report at their meeting on Wednesday.
Auditors found that Austin Resource Recovery, the department in charge of picking up trash, compost and recycling “is not prioritizing its efforts based on impact to the City’s Zero Waste Goal.” Auditors also found inconsistent recycling and composting messages by the city and private waste haulers operating in Austin.
Austin Resource Recovery (ARR) does not pick up trash, compost or recycling from most apartment complexes, commercial businesses and schools. That means the city only manages 15 percent of the waste Austinites produce. The remainder is collected and processed by private waste management companies.
Nevertheless, the city’s Universal Recycling Ordinance set minimum recycling and composting requirements for commercial businesses and multi-family properties. Auditors noted that some property owners receive waivers so that they do not have to participate in recycling.
Auditors wrote: “While education is not the only tool the City has to increase its diversion rate, we found ARR has opportunities to improve its education efforts that may help the City meet its goals. The department is not prioritizing its efforts based on impact to the City’s Zero Waste Goal. Additionally, we found that there (are) inconsistent recycling and composting messages across the city and its private haulers.”
One of the problems auditors noted is the department’s failure to prioritize. As an example, they pointed to a 2024 spreadsheet that identified a list of about 90 projects aimed at potential education and communication for the year. Staff noted that they did not have the resources to work on all the projects. Nevertheless, the department’s leadership declined to pick out the most important projects and directed staff to work on all of them.
Auditors noted that ARR does not have goals related to advertising and messages so the department is not able to effectively plan for and prioritize its educational efforts to help the city achieve the zero waste goal.
Auditors also reported that waste bins throughout the city, including those at libraries and parks, do not have consistent messaging. Although ARR worked with other departments in 2024 to develop guidelines for zero waste facilities, the department does not have the authority to require that other departments to comply with their guidelines. As a result, other departments do not consistently follow those guidelines, auditors wrote.
In addition to problems with external communications, auditors said, ARR does not appear to have effective internal communication.
Auditors wrote that the ARR director should regularly evaluate educational projects and campaigns and set “measurable goals for those projects identified as having a medium and high impact on the Zero Waste Goal.” In addition, the director should determine which educational strategies are most effective and adjust departmental efforts accordingly, auditors said.
In evaluating projects and campaigns, auditors recommended that the director regularly compare waste composition and contamination data. Finally, auditors recommended that the department should regularly evaluate marketing metrics. That includes working with the city’s Public Information Office. Management agreed and noted that the executive team and the marketing manager would hold monthly meetings. In addition, they said, ARR is currently working with the Recycling Partnership, which has granted $600,000 to conduct a “capture rate study” to determine how much of recyclable material is being diverted.
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