A proposed update to the city code that would change the way Austin Resource Recovery is run was definitively shot down by the Zero Waste Advisory Commission at its last meeting, but will be considered at this Thursday’s City Council meeting. The ordinance would change how the department modifies its administrative rules in order to make the process […]
Austin Resource Recovery
Formerly Solid Waste Services. The department in charge of handling solid waste disposal, recycling, and curbside composting for the City of Austin.
Posted inCity Hall
As heat wave continues, city fleet department works to improve AC maintenance for Austin Resource Recovery
Amid an ongoing spike in repair requests for Austin Resource Recovery vehicles, managers of the city’s fleet have made some changes to improve air conditioning maintenance. A memo released last week showed that since June and July 2022, the Fleet Mobility Services Department has observed a 49 percent increase in repairs for heating and air […]
Posted inFire
Fleet Mobility Services working to fix air conditioning in fire trucks
In late July, City Council Member Mackenzie Kelly wrote a memo pointing out that 20 trucks within the Austin Fire Department’s fleet “are currently lacking functioning air conditioning systems.” Not only is that a risk for firefighters, she wrote, but it also “jeopardizes the department’s ability to respond effectively to emergencies.” On Monday, Rick Harland, […]
Posted inBudget
Proposed budget includes small changes at Austin Energy, Austin Resource Recovery
Citing Austin Energy’s critically low levels of cash reserves, the utility’s financial planners are proposing that it raise base rates by 2 percent, which will cost the typical residential customer about $1.04 per month, Budget Officer Kerri Lang told City Council at Tuesday’s budget meeting. Lang said the utility is seeking a $20 million increase […]
Posted inWater
Memo eyes possible polystyrene ban to curb trash in creeks, streams
The Watershed Protection Department wants city leaders to consider instituting a ban on polystyrene fast-food containers as one of a series of possible steps to reduce the amount of trash in local waterways. An April 10 memo gives City Council members an update on progress related to a 2020 resolution that called for a comprehensive […]
Posted inAustin
Drained from emergency debris collections, Austin Resource Recovery prepares for a squeeze this budget cycle
As it continues to pick up the pieces of Winter Storm Mara, Austin Resource Recovery is preparing to weather financial challenges thanks to the $20 million relief effort. Four months out from budget season, Director Ken Snipes and Finance Division Manager Victoria Rieger stopped by the Zero Waste Advisory Commission last week to begin charting […]
Posted inEnergy
Questions of the day: When will power be restored? Will Cronk keep his job?
Two questions hung over City Council’s abbreviated work session Tuesday, one arising frequently and one never mentioned. First of all, Council members wanted to know how many Austin Energy customers were still without power and when their power would be restored. The unspoken question was whether City Manager Spencer Cronk would retain his job after […]
Posted inAustin
Zero Waste Advisory Commission talks through logistics of Prop B
With the passage of Proposition B earlier this month, Austin residents voted to reinstate local laws establishing prohibitions against sitting, resting and camping in public in certain parts of the city. Opponents of the proposition argued that in addition to having a disparate impact on the city’s homeless population, the laws would further stigmatize and worsen […]
Posted inResources
Austin Resource Recovery reworking Zero Waste Master Plan
When City Council unanimously adopted the Austin Resource Recovery Master Plan in 2011, it was a bold step toward making Austin “the most livable city in the country.” At more than 300 pages, the plan laid out a number of environmental sustainability goals for the city over the next three decades, but the primary objective was […]
Posted inCity Council
City looks to support waste collection workers amid pandemic stresses
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to keep many people at home more often, Austin Resource Recovery finds itself steadily losing the staff needed to manage the increased volume of household garbage. City Council passed a resolution Oct. 1 to mitigate what Zero Waste Advisory Commission Chair Gerard Acuna called the “poaching” of ARR staff by […]
Posted inCity Council
Council OKs short contract to clean up homeless camps
Ten people signed up to tell Council on Wednesday they were opposed to awarding a three-year contract to Relief Enterprise of Texas Inc. for “removal of debris and cleanup services under bridge overpasses, under bridges, and in the transportation right of way.” Austinites addressing Council said they had witnessed employees of the contractor acting in […]
Posted inResources
Zero Waste Advisory Commission unanimously recommends contract for bridge and underpass cleanup
At its July 17 meeting, the Zero Waste Advisory Commission unanimously recommended approval of a multiterm Public Works contract agreement to clean debris and trash under bridges and overpasses. The contract is with Relief Enterprise of Texas Inc., a nonprofit that provides disabled and disadvantaged people with job opportunities, for a term of up to […]