10 Dec City Expands Recycling Program

Austin Resource Recovery Expands City Recycling Services 
Curbside customers can now recycle additional materials at no extra cost

Starting today, Austin Resource Recovery curbside customers will be able to recycle even more items in their blue recycling carts. Customers already have access to recycle a variety of materials ranging from paper to glass and plastic; that list will now include the following metal items:

• Aluminum baking tins (clean/free of food residue)
• Aluminum trays, pie plates (clean/free of food residue)
• Clean, balled aluminum foil (2 inches or larger)

“The City will continue to expand its recycling services in pursuit of our goal to divert 90 percent of waste from area landfills by 2040,” said Bob Gedert, Austin Resource Recovery Director. “Each year, a new recyclable will be added to our collection services. As a result, we expect a reduction in the amount of waste collected and an increase in recycling.” Additional materials will be determined by Austin Resource Recovery in partnership with the City’s contracted recycling facilities and in consideration of economic feasibility and community feedback. 

Recyclables are collected by Austin Resource Recovery and processed at two local facilities: Balcones Resources and Texas Disposal Systems. 

In addition to the newly accepted metals, curbside customers can continue to recycle the following items in their blue recycling carts: 

• Paper: (newspaper, office paper, junk mail, envelopes, wrapping paper)
• Boxboard and cardboard: Corrugated cardboard and boxboard including:
  • cereal boxes
  • shoe boxes
  • most gift boxes
  • soda/beverage containers
  • most food packaging containers such as boxes of macaroni and cheese, rice, microwave meals
• Aluminum and metal cans: food cans, soda cans
• Glass: Jars and bottles
• Plastic containers: #1 through #7, including yogurt and margarine tubs

This addition comes at the launch of Austin Resource Recovery’s “Recycle Right” campaign, an education and outreach effort intended to help remind Austinites how and what to recycle. The first week of December, curbside customers will receive their annual recycling calendar that identifies recycling collection days and holiday collection schedules. The 2013 calendar has been revamped to include a detailed recycling guide, Zero Waste tips and information about Austin Resource Recovery’s collection services and initiatives. This comprehensive calendar will help Austinites Recycle Right year-round and is also available online. For additional information about recycling, including a comprehensive list of what items can (and cannot) be collected with the City’s curbside recycling service, please visit austintexas.gov/recycling. 

About Austin Resource Recovery
Austin Resource Recovery provides a wide range of services designed to transform waste into resources while keeping our community clean. Services include curbside collection of recycling, trash, yard trimmings and large brush and bulk items; street sweeping; dead animal collection; household hazardous waste disposal and recycling; and outreach and education. In December 2011, the Austin City Council approved the Austin Resource Recovery Master Plan, which is the City’s roadmap to Zero Waste. The City of Austin is committed to reducing the amount of waste sent to area landfills by 90 percent by 2040 or sooner.

City of Austin