The overview
This new service is a shift from the former collection system in which semiannual bulk and brush pickup days were predetermined by city officials. The household hazardous waste collection is a new service offered by Austin Resource Recovery.
Residents who get ARR services can schedule up to three collections per service every year. This means customers get three collection appointments for bulk, three for brush and three for household hazardous waste, ARR Marketing Supervisor Paul Begsten said. Collections reset at the beginning of the next year.
This will allow customers to schedule pickup times on their own, instead of waiting six months in between the previous predetermined collection periods. Residents who want their brush, bulk and household hazardous waste materials must schedule an appointment for their items to be picked up and can do so through the Austin Recycles App, www.austintexas.gov/myschedule or by calling ARR at 3-1-1.
The on-demand service is offered to ARR customers in single-family homes, townhomes and residences up to fourplex residences. It does not include multifamily properties with five or more units, as they are serviced by private waste collection companies, ARR marketing supervisor Paul Bestgen said in an email to Community Impact.
ARR customers and noncustomers can also schedule an appointment to drop off their waste materials at the Austin Recycle and Reuse Drop-Off Center if needed. Drop off is appointment only.
Household hazardous waste items include those with dangerous chemicals or can easily catch fire, such as aerosol cans, batteries, fluorescent light bulbs and more. Materials that are not listed on the city website cannot be collected through the on-demand service.
Bulk items include those that are too large for the trash cart. These include but are not limited to doors, carpet, furniture and lawn mowers with the gas or oil removed. Items not accepted are household trash, mirrors, cardboard boxes, brush and more.
Brush collection is intended for large branches and tree limbs too large for the composting cart. This service includes various guidelines about branch and limb length and diameter.
Those who have used all three of the on-demand brush collection appointments can drop off their brush at the Austin Water Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant.
Items may be collected by different trucks and picked up at different times throughout the day, the city noted on their website. If items are not collected by 4 p.m. on the appointment day, customers are advised to call ARR at 3-1-1 or send an email after 4 p.m. of the collection day.
The impact
In the first three weeks, the program has completed more than 3,000 appointments since officially launching in January, and has diverted 22.5 tons of materials, including metals, appliances, electronics and more from landfills, officials said.
Community members who spoke at a press conference Feb. 6 to discuss the program said the new service will help give people more access to dispose of waste.
“This makes it easier for people that don't have a truck where they can drop off things,” East Austin resident Luz Lopez-Guerrero said. “It's accessible just by calling that number, by getting online and disposing of these items correctly.”
ARR Director Richard McHale said the east side of I-35 is the greatest area of concentration for complaints regarding illegal dumping.
“I've seen junk and brush sit on the curb for weeks or even months,” she said. “I've talked to some of my neighbors who admit they just don't know what else to do with it.”
Francel said dumping is especially common near her neighborhood because there is a wooded area nearby. She said this makes illegal dumping less noticeable, but more common.
“As I was driving up today to come here, I saw somebody had dumped some shelving in the woods there,” she said. “Maybe if people knew that they could schedule pick up of their junk, they wouldn't dump it along Viewpoint and in other areas of Austin.”
As a lifelong resident, Francel said she hopes the new program can help Austin return to the familiar place she grew up in.
“Growing up in Austin I didn't see this,” she said “I remember Austin being known for ‘Keep Austin Beautiful,’ and I want to hear that again. I want to see that again. I don't want to see the bulk on the side of the road.”
Disposing of products with harmful chemicals can also have health and safety benefits, he said.
“Keeping batteries and cleaning products and chemicals out of landfill also protects the safety and health of our communities,” he said. “Placing batteries and chemicals in curbside collection carts can be the fire that endangers our staff and the general public.”
McHale said ARR staff will be analyzing data to track the program’s success. ARR staff will look at past and current data on fuel mileage, fuel usage over time, labor hours, vehicle use to see if customers are using the program. The official launch comes after testing pilot programs of the three collection services.
Staff will also look at what materials have been collected in the past compared to after the launch of the on-demand service to analyze waste diversion and how people are utilizing the program, he said.
Fuentes said she hopes to see more data on the illegal dumping trends in her East Austin district, which often received illegal dumping complaints.
ARR will be doing public education and outreach for customers to learn more about the program. For more information, visit www.austintexas.gov/ondemand.
