Austin Aims at 90% Landfill Diversion by 2030

Austin, Texas, has set a goal to reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfills by 90 percent in 2030.

The goal toward zero waste sets a shorter deadline for the city than it established in 2009, when the target year was 2040.

It is the central aim of the Austin Resource Recovery Plan, a 30-year project passed by city council for the former Solid Waste Services department to drastically reduce the amount of city waste sent to landfills.

“Austin Resource Recovery is transforming from an agency focused on waste management collection to one focused on materials resource management,” said Bob Gedert, director of Austin Resource Recovery, in a news release. “This master plan is the road map to get us to zero waste.”

Highlights of the plan include: Establishing reuse centers and drop-off facilitiesthroughout the city; expanding single-stream recycling to include additional types of material; starting a pilot program for curbside collection of organic waste; establishing a new household hazardous waste facility; launching recycling and composting requirements for both residential and commercial waste generators; developing and eco-industrial park, where major remanufacturing facilities are co-located with processors of recycled materials; and conducting pilot programs for hard-to-recycle materialslike mattresses and carpet.