Nobody wants their backyard to become a landfill. For nearly a year, Austin Resource Recovery has been redesigning the landfill criteria matrix that refuse companies will have to abide by going forward. Problem is, it seems that staff is caught in the crossfire between ratepayers and waste companies and nobody can come to a consensus. […]
Texas Campaign for the Environment
A nonprofit environmental advocacy group in Austin, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth fighting pollution.
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 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 inEnvironment, Local Politics
AG’s opinion could revive battle over bag ban
A Texas attorney general’s opinion issued late Friday could revive a long-running battle over the banning of single-use plastic bags from stores in Austin and a handful of other cities in Texas. An opinion signed by Attorney General Greg Abbott states that an ordinance like the one in effect in Austin could be in violation […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local Government
Caldwell residents fighting proposed landfill
LOCKHART — Plans for developing an industrial park and landfill in northern Caldwell County have run into fierce opposition from local residents, who say it is a danger to the county’s water supply and that there is no need for the facility. Green Group Holdings is a Georgia-based developer that specializes in large-scale infrastructure […]