Fort Worth, Texas, City Council Approves 20-Year Solid Waste Management Plan

The Fort Worth, Texas, City Council has voted unanimously to approve a 20-Year Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan, which was developed by a Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, Inc. (GBB) project team made up of three firms: Risa Weinberger & Associates, Inc., Arredondo, Zepeda & Brunz, LLC (AZ&B) and OCG+.

"This is a balanced, strategic and effective long-term solid waste management plan that will serve as a blueprint to make Fort Worth greener, and further position the city as a sustainability leader in the local community and throughout the country," said Brandon Bennett, code compliance director at the city of Fort Worth, in a statement. "The GBB project team, along with solid waste services division staff led by Assistant Director Robert Smouse, worked closely with multiple and diverse stakeholders to successfully develop and fine-tune the plan that the City Council ultimately approved. I'm excited to now turn to the implementation phase and see the entire Fort Worth community benefit from it."

The plan’s initiatives and goals include preserving the city's Southeast Landfill through diversion and recycling programs; establishing a Material Management Program to assist commercial businesses, industry and institutions with their efforts to increase recycling and decrease waste generation; furthering the city's overall efforts toward increasing total diversion and expanding recycling programs; improving litter prevention and abatement programs and expanding the use of public containers; evaluating and implementing a pilot organics composting program; increasing educational programs and outreach efforts; improving and expending residential services; evaluating future developmental standards that expand diversion and recycling; and developing new programs with incentives that foster increased diversion or recovery of building construction and demolition materials.

"The city of Fort Worth has a tradition, going back almost 50 years, of being proactive in waste management,” said John Carlton, P.E., BCEE, senior vice president of GBB and project manager for this assignment, in a statement. “It operates an award-winning program and is dedicated to providing residents and businesses with enhanced opportunities to divert, recycle and reuse. The city diverted 7 percent of its waste prior to 2003 and 24 percent in 2013. The approval of the plan is very positive news in the process to achieve the city's goal to divert 40 perceent of residential waste away from the landfill through recycling and other programs."