Resources
ZWAC rejects Republic contract renewal again
In a bit of bureaucratic acrobatics during its Feb. 8 meeting, the Zero Waste Advisory Commission voted to rescind a November recommendation against the proposed renewal of the Republic Services solid waste collection services contract for city facilities, so that…
Resources • By Joseph Caterine • Feb 16, 2017
ZWAC approves organics processing contract with lackluster contingency plan
In line with City Council’s plans to expand curbside compost collection, the Zero Waste Advisory Commission voted at its Feb. 8 meeting to approve staff’s recommendation of Organics By Gosh, the only bidder on the request for proposal released by…
Resources • By Joseph Caterine • Feb 13, 2017
City defends stance on Dripping Springs discharge permit
Chris Herrington, an engineer with the city’s Watershed Protection Department, hopes to dispel the notion that the city of Austin is an “800-pound gorilla” that intimidates surrounding municipalities into submitting to its environmental policy. At the Dec. 7 meeting of…
Resources • By Joseph Caterine • Dec 14, 2016
New city contract: 'death knell' for private dumpster services?
Bob Gregory, CEO of Texas Disposal Systems, and his son Adam Gregory sounded the alarm at Monday’s Electric Utility Commission meeting concerning the pending authorization of a 36-month city contract with Republic Services, or another qualified bidder, to provide dumpster…
Resources • By Joseph Caterine • Nov 16, 2016
Austinites to receive incentive for storing rainwater
Property owners who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to store rainwater will start to receive a discount on their drainage fees next year. The Watershed Protection Department has proposed the change in an attempt to create an…
Resources • By Cate Malek • Aug 9, 2016
Push to expand city composting continues
Austin has made major progress in its efforts to reduce the amount of trash it sends to landfills, but the city will have to make a big change if it wants to realize the ambitious goals it has set through…
Resources • By Jack Craver • Jul 20, 2016
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What's up with Austin's recycling?
“Would you like to have a little Coke?” asks Kathy Bell Hargrave, cracking open a can of soda in her daughter’s kitchen. Some things we do in life without giving them a second thought, but when we stop to think…
Resources • By Mose Buchele, KUT • May 26, 2016
Some on Council want to privatize solid waste system
City Council Member Don Zimmerman wants to talk trash with his dais peers and is actively looking for two others who will support his proposal to privatize the city’s solid waste collection service. All other Council members at Monday’s Public…
Resources • By Eva Ruth Moravec • May 18, 2016
Coyote debate howls through committee
Debate over the region’s coyote policy continued at City Council’s Public Safety Committee on Monday, where public comment on the city’s policy took center stage for about an hour. In November 2014, the city passed a coyote management plan, and…
Resources • By Elizabeth Pagano • Mar 31, 2016
Privatization questions rankle union, expose rift between commission and city staff
A resolution that would explore the idea of a public-private partnership for collection of residential garbage, recycling and yard trimmings stalled out Wednesday night at the Zero Waste Advisory Commission, where commissioners opted to table the resolution and take no…
Resources • By Elizabeth Pagano • Mar 11, 2016
Customers seek changes in AE rate case
An unusual coalition of consumers has written to City Council to request that it slow down the proposed schedule for Austin Energy’s upcoming rate case. In addition, the consumers – including semiconductor giants Samsung and NXP as well as the…
Energy • By Jo Clifton • Jan 22, 2016
Council members react to water meter audit
Although Austin Water and Austin Energy staff said at a City Council Public Utilities Committee meeting Wednesday that recent audits found the city’s water billing system to be accurate, the Council members who sit on that body said they still…
