Austin Resource Recovery has released new details on plans to build a central hub where city garbage and composting trucks transfer their loads to bigger trucks before the waste is hauled to out-of-town disposal sites. Department officials said the hub, also called a transfer station, would help improve city services and reduce emissions from disposal […]
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Austin braces for third round of gas‑rate increases in 12 months
Texas Gas Service (TGS) has filed for its third rate increase in approximately 12 months, affecting customers in Austin and surrounding areas. On Thursday the Austin City Council is expected to approve a 90-day delay of the proposal, though the city has limited authority to block it. The city does not own its gas utility […]
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Austin Resource Recovery expands waste services and reuse programs
Austin Resource Recovery shared the department’s latest initiatives with the Environmental Commission, detailing expanded waste collection services and sustainability programs aimed at keeping Austin cleaner and advancing the city’s zero-waste goals. Ron Romero, Assistant Director of Austin Resource Recovery, said the department continues to enhance its core curbside programs: weekly trash and compost collection, and […]
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Zero Waste Advisory Commission discusses rate changes and projects
Austin’s Zero Waste Advisory Commission (ZWAC) met on May 14 where appointees heard a five-year financial forecast for Austin Resource Recovery and a report on the utility’s current projects. May is typically when city staff present their departmental financial forecasts to boards and commissions to gear up for budget season, and these discussions can sometimes […]
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Austin Resource Recovery to formally amend cart collection rules
Austin Resource Recovery, the city department that handles Austin’s waste, wants to clarify some things about how residents put out recycling, trash and compost carts. In a presentation to the Zero Waste Advisory Commission during a meeting on April 10, department staff outlined proposed amendments to their administrative rules governing cart collection. City code requires […]
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Council is likely to briefly stop rate hikes for natural gas
Texas Gas Service Company and CenterPoint Energy Resources, which serve gas customers in Austin and surrounding areas as well as other parts of the state, have filed notices of their plan to raise rates for the service regions that include Austin. The increase for the Gas Reliability Infrastructure Program is intended to repay the company […]
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Austin Resource Recovery gets ready for the new year
Austin Resource Recovery plans to collect a total of 260,375 tons of waste from curbside and drop-off center operations during Fiscal Year 2025, with an estimated 40 percent of curbside collected materials to be diverted from landfills, according to a recent report. That’s an increase from the 251,294 tons of waste collected from curbside and […]
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City to seek new bids for compost processing
The question of which contractor or contractors will process compostable items is up in the air for now. Currently, those organic items are collected from customers’ green bins under a contract with Austin Resource Recovery. At last week’s Council meeting, Mayor Kirk Watson announced that Council would not be considering an item awarding a contract […]
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Council rejects Texas Gas Service rate hike
Despite reining in its initial proposal, Texas Gas Service has still failed to win over City Council in its endeavor to raise prices for Austin ratepayers. The utility faced backlash this summer with news of its plans to aggressively hike fixed monthly fees, prompting Austin and 16 other cities in its service area to join […]
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Texas Gas Service rate hearing at Council this Thursday
City Council will host a hearing on Thursday to allow members of the public, particularly customers of Texas Gas Service, to voice their opinions about a large rate increase the utility is proposing. The city has also joined a coalition of cities seeking to convince the Texas Railroad Commission, which makes the final decision about […]
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At Council Member Alison Alter’s urging, city commission may have input on natural gas matters
Members of the city’s Resource Management Commission have been trying for months to find out how they can weigh in on the current rate case for Texas Gas Service. They have passed a number of resolutions seeking to have input – not only on the cost of natural gas to consumers, but also on prioritizing […]
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Resource Management Commission considers petition for oversight on gas utilities
The city’s Resource Management Commission may soon find itself a bit busier, with plans for a vote to add oversight of Austin’s natural gas utilities to its purview. Commissioner Paul Robbins, a longtime environmentalist, brought the proposal forth. It would explicitly designate the commission as City Council’s primary adviser on gas utility policies like rate […]