This year, the average Austinite will spend $2,475 on utility bills to cover the cost of electricity, water and garbage pickup. City Council Member Ellen Troxclair wants to know how that compares to what other people served by other utilities in Texas pay. A resolution Troxclair plans to introduce today asks city staff to conduct […]
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City composting may soon expand, go high-tech
A month after select Austin residents received their green compost bins to expand the city’s composting pilot program, the time has come to assess the success of the program’s reception. On Nov. 8, Emlea Chanslor, Austin Resource Recovery acting division manager, came to the Zero Waste Advisory Commission meeting to present preliminary findings from the […]
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Will city composting ever make it to multifamily residences?
Some people in Austin saw a new, green compost bin waiting at the curb when they arrived home from work this week. However, although the city of Austin’s single-family residence composting program is entering its next phase, the next question that needs to be answered is how to include multifamily residences in the initiative. At […]
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Study offers a window into the lives of recyclers
Members of the Zero Waste Advisory Commission embraced the results of a six-month study intended to reveal the recycling habits of Austinites at their most recent meeting. Emlea Chanslor, Austin Resource Recovery public information officer, presented the study’s results. She said one of the more important findings indicated that knowledge of what can be recycled […]
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Council approves composting contract despite Texas Disposal Systems objections
City Council approved a contract Thursday to dramatically expand the city’s curbside organics collection and composting program. The new contract builds upon the pilot program that has been in place for nearly four years. Under that program, Organics By Gosh, a local composting firm run by a husband-and-wife duo, processed organic waste collected from the […]
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City utilities devise plan to help with unpaid bills
Austin’s two city-owned utilities are teaming up to help some of the city’s most indebted customers catch up on unpaid bills. Beginning this summer, the joint effort between Austin Energy and Austin Water will target 543 customers who participate in AE’s low-income customer assistance program and owe between $1,750 and $3,000 to the utilities. Those […]
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Council denies controversial waste disposal contract
City Council voted unanimously last week to kill a garbage collection contract after outcries from both environmentalists and waste hauling companies that claimed they would be hurt by the proposed deal between the city and Republic Services, a Phoenix-based waste disposal firm. Council’s decision followed a recommendation by the Zero Waste Advisory Commission earlier this […]
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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 it could recommend against it again with updated rationale. City Council will consider that updated […]
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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 Council last year, for a 36-month, $1,510,000 contract to provide additional organics processing services. The […]
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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 the Environmental Commission, Herrington and other Watershed Protection staff presented a brief on the city […]
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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 services for city facilities and special events. The contract came before the commission because Austin […]
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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 equitable system for assessing the monthly drainage fees paid by property owners. The new system, […]