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 biweekly recycling for the more than 220,000 households it serves. He highlighted a recent upgrade to the brush, bulky item and hazardous waste pickup program, which replaced the previous six-month rotation with an on-demand system allowing residents to schedule pickups up to three times a year.

“We started this in January and it has been a very popular change in the program,” Romero said. “We’ve seen an uptick in use and we have seen cleaner neighborhoods. We’ve seen neighborhoods and block leaders getting together to coordinate these services happening and it’s been very successful so far.”  

Commissioner Mariana Krueger questioned how the shift to on-demand bulk pickup would impact community engagement and environmental impact. 

“I can understand from an individual perspective that it’s more convenient,” Krueger said. “From a community-wide perspective and from an environmental perspective, to me it seems like it would be more burdensome on our system to have to do more drives out places rather than a single drive through a neighborhood.”

Romero highlighted Austin Resource Recovery’s investment in community programs that promote reuse and waste reduction. He said the Recycling and Reuse Drop-off Center in Southeast Austin provides residents with a convenient way to dispose of hard-to-recycle items, while the Austin Reuse Directory helps people find second-hand stores and donation sites.

“So far, with the popularity of the program and the reduction in overtime, fuel, and personnel, it’s all starting to make it clear that this was a good way to redesign the program,” Romero said. He added that after a year of implementation, they will have more data to evaluate the program’s effectiveness.

“The online directory makes it easy to locate places to donate and buy second-hand items across Austin,” Romero said. “We’ve seen an uptick in the website and it is something that many, many people have accessed.” 

He also noted the success of the Fix-It Clinic, which teaches repair skills for electronics, clothing, and appliances at public libraries.

Romero said education was key to Austin Resource Recovery’s approach. Through programs like Generation Zero, the department worked with schools to teach students about recycling and composting. Other efforts, such as MoveOutATX and the Zero Waste Block Leaders program, encouraged reuse and community engagement, promoting local waste reduction. 

Commissioner Haris Qureshi expressed concerns about the need for better education on recycling and more composting facilities in the city.

He recalled recently seeing people throw biodegradable utensils into regular trash cans at the park because no compost bins were available.

“What can we do to encourage more commercial properties or businesses to have separate compost bins or facilities?” Qureshi said. “We need buy-in from these businesses for widespread adoption.” 

“It takes a lot of education,” Romero said. “We do have a universal recycling ordinance where multifamily businesses are required to provide composting and recycling.”

“It’s a voluntary reporting system that they give us that they’re  adhering to this ordinance,” Romero said. “But we need a mechanism where we have a lot more education and are able to go out and visit with businesses and train them” 

Qureshi also stressed the importance of educating residents on proper recycling habits, especially avoiding placing recyclables in plastic bags.

“We need to figure out how to let people know not to put recycled stuff in the trash bags and then put the bag in the recycling bin,” Qureshi said. “Because now that I know you’re not supposed to do that, whenever I see that all the time, horrific rage fills me.” 

Romero said that Austin Resource Recovery will continue to strengthen its education programs and that overall, the city has strong participation in the recycling program. 

“We have great participation. We had 85% of the city participating in the recycling program,” Romero said. “We’re not mandating these programs. We’re getting 85% participation by people who want to do the right thing.”