Facility breaks ground on Neidhardt Drive, opens spring 2015

Contractors working with Travis County Water Control and Improvements District 17 broke ground on the Lake Travis Regional Reuse and Recycling Center on Aug. 26, WCID 17 General Manager Debbie Gernes said. The center is expected to be operational in spring 2015.

The new center is located at 3207 Neidhardt Drive, Austin, just off General Williamson Drive in Lakeway's extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ.

The 2,400-square-foot facility will accept residential household hazardous materials, such as paints, pesticides, batteries, corrosives and bug spray for recycling Gernes said. However, the center will not accept some hazardous materials, tires or commercial materials, she said.

The project is funded by the cities of Bee Cave and Lakeway, the Lakeway Municipal Utility District, the Hurst Creek MUD, Village of the Hills and WCID 17, Gernes said.

Every jurisdiction paid a share of the project based on the number of its residents who attended the annual hazardous recycling events, she said. Previously, residents could only dispose of their hazardous household waste once a year, she said.

"There is a need to have a place close by to drop off waste that is not usable anymore and might be hazardous to the environment," she said.

The center will offer some of the reusable materials to residents for sale, such as a partially used can of floor stripper and other materials, Gernes said. Proceeds from these products will fund the maintenance of the facility, she said. A disposal company will pick up the remaining materials that are not recyclable, she said.

The site will utilize a drive-thru area in which customers can pull up, open their vehicle and allow an attendant to remove the hazardous material, WCID 17 Administrative Assistant Linda Sandlin said.

WCID 17 and Lakeway employees received hands-on training Aug. 13 from city of Austin staffers at their Household Hazardous Waste Facility, Gernes said.

She said the total cost to build the center will be about $50,000 and anticipates the facility will be complete by February. The city of Lakeway is managing the finances for the project, she said.

Gernes said she does not anticipate the center to be open every day.