On Sixth Street just past midnight, small herds of young people mill in the street or near the entrances of bars – some smoking cigarettes, others looking at their phones. Virginia Alexander honks at them to move. She is trying to drive her ATV down the street to get to the trash cans. “Watch out, […]
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 inResources
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 action. But even the specter of the resolution caused problems. Carol Guthrie, executive director of […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Late nights and postponements
Late meeting, again… Early in its tenure, the new City Council took pains to promise the public that the era of late Council meetings was over. A year later, that promise has not come to fruition, and Thursday some Council members took a minute to air their frustration with the current state of things. During […]
Posted inAustin, City Hall
Zero waste commission endorses sale of city land
In a move that may ultimately help the city create a hub for manufacturing companies that use locally recycled materials, the Zero Waste Advisory Commission has endorsed the sale of a piece of property owned by Austin Resource Recovery. Nine commissioners supported the measure at last Wednesday’s meeting, with Commissioner Jose Valera abstaining and Vice […]
Posted inCity Council
Council rejects Austin Energy waste contract
Responding to environmental concerns, City Council on Thursday unanimously rejected staff’s recommendation that the city extend a contract with Republic Services to dispose of nonhazardous industrial waste generated by Austin Energy. Mayor Steve Adler was out of the city at the Harvard school for new mayors. Council members Ora Houston and Don Zimmerman championed the […]
Posted inResources
Council approves new recycling standards for construction material
In a victory for environmentalists, City Council voted Thursday to approve an ordinance that sets limits on the amount of material from a construction or demolition site that can go to waste. The ordinance, which passed 8-3, with Council members Sheri Gallo, Ellen Troxclair and Don Zimmerman in opposition, requires those involved in a construction […]
Posted inCity Council
Sale of city land divides city interests
Plans for a dog park in Southeast Austin may be dead. Why? In short: The city cannot afford its own land, which is now worth more than six times what it was valued at less than two years ago. But it only gets more complicated from there. In January 2014, City Council postponed approving a […]
Posted inResources
Citywide compost pickup plan faces resistance
Based on comments that a few City Council members made at Thursday’s budget work session, it appears that a proposed citywide, curbside organics collection rollout could get transformed into an opt-in program – if it remains in the forthcoming city budget at all. “I think it’s great for people who want to use it,” said […]
Posted inDevelopment
Committee to take a closer look at construction and demo recycling
Though it has been in the works for years, a plan to require more construction-site recycling and reuse of materials hit a small road bump at the Planning Commission last week. Commissioners voted unanimously to send the proposed code amendments back to their Codes and Ordinances Committee, where they hope to get more input on […]
Posted inResources
Citywide compost pickup may be on the way
The blue recycling bin that many Austinites leave on their curbs may soon have a counterpart – a green organics collection bin. While a citywide compost pickup program boasts obvious environmental benefits, it would come at a cost to taxpayers, and that is a conflict that City Council will be wrestling with as it prepares […]
Posted inBudget
Austin water bills going up, electric bills decreasing
Residential customers of the Austin Water utility are projected to pay $4.94 more per month in Fiscal Year 2016 than they are paying this year, but the same customers should see a decrease of $2.22 in their monthly Austin Energy bills, according to the city’s budget writers. Either of those numbers could be wrong if […]
Posted inResources
City announces recycling-education campaign
Austin residents are sending a lot of recyclables to landfills, and city staff hopes to help change that with a new educational campaign. Austin Resource Recovery Department Director Bob Gedert made the announcement at a press conference on Monday. “The fact is that more recyclables are going to the landfill than are being recycled in […]