Is Austin鈥檚 goal of sustainability sustainable? The city aims to be zero-waste by 2040鈥攎eaning 90 percent of discarded materials will be either recycled or composted and not sent to landfills鈥攜et 80 percent of the items at city landfills could have been recycled or composted, according to a 2015 study.
However, business community members and environmental advocates alike seem to agree that Austin is making strides toward a target that seemed high to some at the time of its adoption in 2009鈥攚hen the city became the first in Texas to adopt such a strategy.
The four-year phase-in of the city鈥檚 ordinance requiring commercial properties鈥攊ncluding schools, medical facilities, businesses, apartments and condominiums鈥攖o provide recycling services was complete Oct. 1.
Austin still has a long way to go to meet its zero-waste goal, but the general manager of Austin鈥檚 largest processor of recyclables said the doubling of its workforce and continued investment in its far East Austin facility stand as evidence of the progress made.
鈥淭his is not an easy task we set ourselves at, and it鈥檚 one that I think we are as a company very much in partnership with the city on,鈥� Balcones Resources General Manager Joaquin Mariel said.
The last phase of the recycling ordinance that rolled out Oct. 1, required all multifamily and nonresidential commercial properties to provide tenants and employees with convenient access to recycling services.
The municipal law, which has been implemented gradually since 2013, mandates that affected properties provide the following: sufficient recycling capacity; convenient access to recycling services; recycling services for such items as paper, plastics Nos. 1 and 2, aluminum, glass and cardboard; bilingual recycling education and informational container signs; and online submission of an annual diversion plan.
Single-family homes, to which the ordinance does not apply, receive curbside recycling collection via the city.
Failure to abide by any of the five guidelines can result in a fine between $200 and $2,000 per deficiency, per day.
The Texas Campaign for the Environment completed independent monitoring of how Austin businesses and apartment complexes are complying with the universal recycling ordinance.
Program Director Andrew Dobbs said from what his organization has seen the ordinance has been a success.
When the ordinance was introduced in 2013, Dobbs said hardly any of the businesses and multifamily complexes were filing an annual waste-diversion plan, as required by the ordinance.
Dobbs said there has been a 鈥渂ig shift鈥� since then, and a majority of properties are now reporting compliance.
鈥淭here are still big gaps that need to be filled and it will be an ongoing project, but we have the foundation and framework we need to make sure all businesses in the city of Austin are recycling and diverting materials through composting,鈥� Dobbs said.
The next true measure of the city鈥檚 progress toward its zero-waste goal will come in 2019鈥攚hen the latest diversion study is slated to be released.
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