Austin changes its curbside bulk collection approach
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Austin's refuse collection department is jettisoning its biannual brush and bulk collections for an on-demand model.
Why it matters: You'll no longer have to wait months to drag your ratty furniture or backyard tree limbs to the curb for your scheduled neighborhood pickup day.
State of play: Starting in January, each Austin Resource Recovery service address will be able to schedule up to three collections per calendar year for each service — brush, bulk, and now household hazardous waste (old paint, batteries, automotive fluids, pool chemicals, fluorescent light bulbs, and so on).
The big picture: The change is part of a wider city effort to divert refuse from landfills.
- On-demand brush collection will also reduce wildfire risks, city officials say.
What they're saying: The change "not only lowers the risk of fires but also helps prevent branches from entering our waterways, resulting in cleaner and more visually appealing neighborhoods with fewer brush piles," Richard McHale, the director of Austin Resource Recovery, wrote in a recent memo to the mayor and City Council members.
- Implementing on-demand household hazardous waste collection will "enhance the safety of our crews while preventing hazardous materials from entering our carts, collection trucks, recycling facilities, and landfills," he wrote.
How it works: Customers will have to specify the quantities and types of items being collected so Austin Resource Recovery can dispatch the appropriate vehicle for handling and sorting materials.
- Currently, Austinites not participating in a household hazardous waste on-demand pilot program must schedule an appointment to drop off the material at the Recycle and Reuse Drop-off Center in southeast Austin. Drop-off at the center will still be available after the new program takes off.
- Household hazardous waste containers cannot be larger than five gallons and the city will collect a maximum of 30 gallons of paint and paint thinners per appointment. The same limits apply for cooking oil and grease, Austin Resource Recovery officials tell Axios.
Customers will have three options for scheduling their bulk, brush and household hazardous waste collections:
• Using the Austin Recycles app
• Visiting AustinTexas.gov/MySchedule
• Contacting 3-1-1 (512-974-2000)
Follow the money: "These on-demand services will offer greater flexibility for our customers while establishing a more efficient and cost-effective collection program," McHale wrote.
- McHale's memo did not say how much more or less the new model would cost the city compared to the current one, but officials told Axios it would save fuel costs and staff time for bulk and brush collection.
- The city has budgeted nearly $350,000 in the new fiscal year for on-demand household hazardous waste collection.
Zoom out: In the 2024 fiscal year, Austin Resource Recovery diverted about 37% of household waste from landfills, per an October briefing to the city's zero waste advisory commission.
- The City of Austin aims to reduce the amount of trash — including by encouraging recycling and composting — sent to landfills by 90% by 2040.
What we'll miss: Those blue and green postcards announcing bulk and brush collection dates that tell you what you can and can't put out on the curb.
- We'd get a cheap rush of endorphins when they showed up in our mailbox.