A year after the city of Austin moved its bulk and brush pick-up to on-demand collection, officials say they have saved more than $180,000 and improved customer service. The city has continued to look for ways to increase efficiency and cut down on costs, especially as it deals with budget constraints. Adjustments to the collection program is one of many changes that include restructuring Austin police staffing and closing the Recycled Reads bookstore.
Previously, Austinites who wanted to get rid of household furniture or large branches would have to wait until their designated pick-up date when neighborhood curbs would fill with sofas, patio furniture and mattresses or stacks of brush and tree limbs. Customers were limited to two brush and two bulk pick-ups a year. Now, residents can call to schedule the pickups.
Amy Slagle, assistant director for Austin Resource Recovery, said the old system was inefficient because it meant crews would drive every single street looking for materials to collect.”There may be streets with nothing on it and then we encounter streets where the set outs are very heavy so that would create additional work hours in the day,” she said. “And then having to go back to check those areas for set outs created additional fuel costs.鈥�