City seeks recycling insights, not ideas

In response to stalled efforts to cut waste, Austin Resource Recovery is partnering with the Innovation Office to gather feedback on why people aren’t recycling more. An independent study recently found that 44 percent of Austin’s trash is recyclable, and the city hopes to understand why. Austin Resource Recovery has developed an online survey and is conducting community meetings to gather insights. “Unlike ‘ideas’ which are suggestions for solving a problem, ‘insights’ reveal the root of the problem,” explained Brandi Clark Burton, policy adviser to Mayor Steve Adler, in a recent post on the City Council Message Board. “This more detailed information will help ARR understand the obstacles which will allow for more and better opportunities for recycling.” The feedback period ends Aug. 24. Between now and then, people are invited to take the survey or send a text to 512-580-7778 with an answer to this question: “How might we put fewer recyclables in the trash?”