Oct 11, 2023 Zero Waste Advisory Commission

VICTORIA VIC? YES, SIR.

I'M HERE.

OH, OH, OH, I'M .

BUSINESS IS ACTUALLY THE, UH, PRESENTATION, SCOTT, AND THAT RICHARD WILL COME BACK TO YOU AFTER.

THOUGHT IT WAS ONE OF OUR NEW MEMBERS.

I'M SORRY, .

I'M NOT LOVING, BUT I'M HERE.

YOU WANNA JOIN? WE NEED YOU COME ON.

ANYWAY, GUYS, THANK YOU.

MINUTES HAVE PASSED.

ALRIGHT, THE NEXT ITEM, THE NEXT ITEM OF

[3. Review and approval of ARR Comprehensive Plan – Jason McCombs (ARR) and Scott Pasternak (Burns & McDonnell)]

WE GET SCOTT DONE HERE.

ALRIGHT, THIS IS JASON AND, UH, SCOTT.

GOOD EVENING EVERYONE.

SO, I'M JASON MCCOMBS, UH, DIVISION MANAGER WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

BUT, UH, SCOTT AK HERE WITH BURNS AND MCDONALD.

HE, HE WAS WITH A CONTRACTOR HELPING US WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PLAN.

SO, UM, I'M, UH, PLEASED TO PRESENT OUR, UH, 2023 AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, UM, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.

THIS IS AN UPDATE TO THE 2011 MASTER PLAN.

AND SO IT'S REALLY A ROADMAP THAT WE HAVE TO HELP, YOU KNOW, LAY OUT THE ZONES OF WHERE WE WANT TO HEAD IN THE COMING YEARS.

UH, THE 2011 PLAN, UM, WAS VERY MUCH FOCUSED ON INTRODUCING THE IDEA OF ZERO WASTE AND, UM, AC PROVIDING ACCESS TO SERVICES.

AND IT ALSO, UM, HAD THAT, UH, 90% VERSION FROM THE LANDFILL BY THE YEAR 2040 IS THE OVERALL GOAL.

CAN I CONTROL THIS? AND SO, UM, YEAH.

AND SO THE DEPARTMENT DID REACH A MAJORITY OF THE GOALS THAT WE HAD WITHIN THAT 2011 PLAN.

AND LIKE I SAID, THIS, UH, CONTRACT IS AN UPDATE TO THAT.

UH, THE CONTRACT WAS ORIGINALLY AWARDED IN 2019, UM, BUT THE MUCH OF THE DEVELOPMENT WORK REALLY BEGAN IN 2020.

WORKED CLOSELY WITH OUR PARTNER IN BURNS MCDONALD, UM, TO UPDATE THAT PLAN.

UH, 2020 AND 2021, THERE WERE MULTIPLE PHASES OF OUTREACH AND DRAFTING THAT WERE CONDUCTED.

UM, THERE WAS ALSO IN, UH, LAST JUNE, THERE WAS A DEEP DIVE KIND OF INTO THAT OUTREACH AND HOW IT WAS HANDLED ON THE JUNE WAC MEETING, IF YOU'D LIKE TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT IT.

UM, IN LATE SPRING, WE DID PROVIDE, UM, A DRAFT VERSION OF THIS PLAN AS WAC MEMBERS.

AND WE HAD STAFF SIT DOWN ONE-ON-ONE WAS STAFF.

WHEN WE GATHERED FEEDBACK FROM EVERYONE, UM, ON SWAC.

UH, WE DID MAKE CHANGES BASED ON THAT, ON THOSE MEETINGS, AND TOOK THAT THEN DRAFT TO, UM, UH, TO CITY COUNCIL.

THE, THE, AND THEN SAT DOWN WITH EACH OF THEM, EACH OF THEIR OFFICE AS REVIEWED AS WELL.

UM, I THINK THE, THE COMMENTS THAT FROM THE, YOUR GUYS MEETING THAT YOU GUYS HAD WITH US AND STAFF, THERE WAS AN EXCEL FILE I THINK SENT OUT, UM, THAT WAS ATTACHED TO THAT, JUST SHOWING WHAT THE COMMENTS WERE, WHERE THE EDITS HAPPENED, YOU KNOW, EXAMPLES.

SHE'D BE ABLE TO CLEARLY SEE THAT.

UM, MEETING WITH THE COUNCIL OFFICES WENT REALLY WELL.

UM, ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS INDICATED THAT THERE WAS SUPPORTIVE OF THE PLAN.

UM, AND WE FINISHED THOSE UP A FEW WEEKS AGO.

I THINK WE MET WITH EVERYONE, I THINK, EXCEPT FOR, UH, DISTRICT SIX, WHICH WE'RE DECIDING TO BE ABLE TO SCHEDULE TIME WITH, HAVE A MUTUAL TIME

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TO MEET.

SO, UM, THE DRAFT HERE TODAY IS VERY MUCH THE SAME DRAFT THAT WAS PRESENTED BACK IN SPRING TO EVERYONE.

THERE WAS COSMETIC CHANGES AND REALLY A LOT OF CLARIFICATIONS TO TEXT WAS THE PRIMARY THING THAT WE SAW.

AND SO, UM, IT REALLY HOPEFULLY WOULD JUST LOOK BETTER AND MAYBE BE A LITTLE BIT CLEARER THAN I THINK WHAT YOU SAW PAST IN THIS PAST SPRING.

AND SO IT HAS BEEN A LONG PROCESS.

UM, BUT WE'RE HERE, I THINK GETTING HERE TOWARDS THE END.

WE'RE VERY PROUD OF WHAT'S BEEN DONE WITH US AND, AND BURNS MCDONALD.

UM, AND I'M ASSURE YOU, THE WORK HAS NOT STOPPED IN OUR TEAM.

WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING TOWARDS MANY OF THE GOALS THAT HAVE, UM, WITHIN THIS PLAN.

UM, YOU KNOW, AS YOU KNOW, WE WERE BEEN A LEADER IN THE STORM RESPONSE.

UM, MULTI-FAMILY COMPOSTING JUST PASSED, UM, WAS THAT TWO WEEKS AGO, I THINK FOR CITY COUNCIL.

GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONERS.

AND, UM, WE WERE JUST AWARDED A, UH, E P A GRANT FOR $4 MILLION FOR A AUSTIN REUSE WAREHOUSE, WHICH IS ALSO SOMETHING IN THIS PLAN AND THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN AS WELL.

WELL, SO WE ARE STILL MOVING FORWARD.

AND SO, UM, WITH THAT, I WILL HAND IT OVER TO SCOTT, UM, TO TAKE OVER, TALK A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE PROCESS AND DEVELOPMENT.

SO THANKS.

THANKS, JASON.

MY NAME IS SCOTT PASTOR NACK WITH BURNS AND MCDONALD.

IT'S, UH, VERY NICE TO BE BEFORE YOU ONCE AGAIN TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT, UH, THIS PLAN WITH YOU ALL.

UH, WE HAD A CHANCE TO VISIT WITH, UH, THE COMMISSION PROBABLY ABOUT, UH, A YEAR OR TWO AGO.

AND SO TO BE ABLE TO BRING BACK THE, UH, THE DRAFT PLAN IS, IS DEFINITELY, UH, A GOOD SPOT TO BE IN.

SO WE WORKED WITH CITIES ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY ON THEIR SOLID WASTE AND, AND ZERO WASTE PLANNING INITIATIVES.

UM, AND I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AS, AS WE START THE PRESENTATION TONIGHT, TO REALLY ECHO, UH, WHAT IS HERE, UH, ON THIS SLIDE RIGHT NOW IN TERMS OF THESE ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE SINCE 2011.

WE WORK WITH SO MANY OF THE OTHER LARGE CITIES IN, IN TEXAS AND MEDIUM-SIZED COMMUNITIES AS WELL.

SO THERE'S SOME CITIES THAT MAY HAVE IMPLEMENTED ONE OF THESE THREE ITEMS, BUT THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NOT A ANOTHER CITY IN TEXAS THAT HAS ACHIEVED ALL, ALL THREE OF THESE.

AND THEN, AS JASON JUST MENTIONED, UH, THIS PLAN REPRESENTS REALLY JUST, JUST THE BEGINNING OF WHAT A R R AND THE REST OF THE CITY IS GOING TO DO OVER THE NEXT, UH, SEVERAL YEARS.

AND I THINK THEM GOING AFTER AND RECEIVING THAT GRANT ON A REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUE THAT'S IDENTIFIED IN THE PLAN IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THAT.

AND I THINK A R R SHOULD REALLY BE COMMENDED FOR THAT.

THERE WERE MORE THAN 300 APPLICATIONS, UH, FOR THOSE GRANT DOLLARS AND ONLY 25 AWARDS.

SO FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO RECEIVE ONE OF THOSE IS REALLY A PRETTY, PRETTY BIG DEAL.

SO IN TERMS OF WHAT WE WANT TO COVER, UH, NEXT IS, IS TO WALK YOU THROUGH THE PLANNING PROCESS.

UM, SO FOR THOSE OF YOU ALL WHO MAY NOT HAVE BEEN HERE FOR SOME OF OUR PRIOR, UH, PRESENTATIONS, THIS IS, UH, THE SAME PLANNING PROCESS THAT WE'VE COMMUNICATED PREVIOUSLY.

AND JUST LOOKING, UH, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, UH, WE STARTED WITH, UH, REALLY EXTENSIVE RESEARCH ANALYSIS AND, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON A NUMBER OF TOPICS, INCLUDING BENCHMARKING, AS WELL AS, UH, VARIOUS TYPES OF, OF POLICY ISSUES THAT I'LL TALK WITH YOU ALL ABOUT TONIGHT.

UH, AND THEN FROM THERE, WE COLLABORATED WITH A R R STAFF, UH, TO IDENTIFY ALTERNATIVES, TO EVALUATE OPTIONS.

WE HAD A NUMBER OF, UH, VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS.

'CAUSE THIS WAS HAPPENING RIGHT SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF, OF COVID.

UH, AND THEN FROM THERE IN A VERY COLLABORATIVE FASHION, UH, WHERE WE HAD SOME RESPONSIBILITIES AND A R R HAD A OTHERS, UH, WE WORKED TOGETHER IN THE DRAFTING OF THE PLAN THAT YOU ALL HAVE BEFORE US, BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING.

AND THEN ON THE BOTTOM OF THIS SLIDE, IT, IT COMMUNICATES, UH, THE, UH, CITY STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND PUBLIC OUTREACH.

I'LL HAVE A SLIDE TOWARD THE END OF THE PRESENTATION, BUT THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT WE HAD, UH, NOT ONLY EXTENSIVE COLLABORATION WITH A R R AND OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS, BUT A NUMBER OF OTHER EFFORTS THAT INCLUDED FOCUS GROUPS, SURVEYS, UM, AS WELL AS, UH, MULTIPLE PRESENTATIONS, UH, WITH THE ZERO WASTE ADVISORY COMMISSION.

SO BENCHMARKING WAS ONE OF THE FIRST TASKS, UH, THAT, THAT WE TOOK ON AS A PART OF THIS.

'CAUSE IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE CITY TO UNDERSTAND, UH, HOW, HOW DOES AUSTIN COMPARE AGAINST OTHER REALLY HIGH PERFORMING CITIES THAT ARE OF A LARGE SIZE AND ALSO HAVE ZERO WASTE GOALS.

AND SO WE BENCHMARKED, UH, AUSTIN AGAINST 13 OTHER CITIES.

IT WAS ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES OF WHAT ZERO WASTE MEANS.

UH, SO WE REALLY RESEARCHED WHAT THEY ALL LOOK AT FROM A DEFINITION PERSPECTIVE.

AND THEN AS LONG AS WE WERE DOING THAT, THAT RESEARCHING, UH, WE LOOKED INTO OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES SUCH AS, UH, TECHNOLOGY, ESPECIALLY FROM A,

[00:10:01]

A COLLECTION VEHICLE PERSPECTIVE, UH, AS WELL AS VARIOUS POLICY ISSUES.

SO THE KEY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS BENCHMARKING ARE VERY IMPORTANT IN TERMS OF INFORMING THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.

THIS SLIDE IDENTIFIES, UH, WHO THOSE CITIES ARE, AND THEN WE WANT IT TO BE, UH, VERY FORTHRIGHT IN COMMUNICATING THIS INFORMATION BECAUSE DEPENDING ON THE CITY, UH, THERE'S GONNA BE DIFFERENT YEARS IN WHICH THEY PUBLISHED THEIR DIVERSION RATE.

UH, SO THIS IS THE DATA THAT WAS, UH, MOST UP TO DATE WHEN THE INFORMATION WAS OBTAINED IN 2020.

UM, AND SO IT COMMUNICATES WHAT THEIR, UH, DIVERSION RATE IS.

SO YOU CAN SEE AUSTIN THERE AT AT 42%.

AND THEN OVER ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, WE'VE COMMUNICATED, WHICH ARE THE, UH, WASTE GENERATION SECTORS THAT WERE INCLUDED AS A PART OF THAT.

AND SO IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, THIS IS SOME OF THE KEY TAKEAWAYS, UH, FROM THE BENCHMARKING RESULTS.

AND SO OF THESE 13 CITIES, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO, TO, TO RECOGNIZE THAT AUSTIN, UH, ONLY TRAILS THE WEST COAST CITIES, SO THREE IN IN CALIFORNIA AND, AND ONE IN SEATTLE.

SO IN THE CASE OF THE CALIFORNIA CITIES, THEY'VE HAD MULTIPLE MANDATES FOR, FOR A VERY LONG PERIOD OF TIME IN WHICH THEY HAVE BEEN REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE VERY HIGH, UH, DIVERSION GOALS.

AND SEATTLE IS KIND OF THE, I WOULD CALL MAYBE THE BIRTH BIRTHPLACE OF A LOT OF THE ZERO WASTE CONCEPTS, UH, THAT ARE BEING PURSUED.

AND SO THEY'VE HAD PROGRAMS IN PLACE FOR, FOR A REALLY LONG TIME.

SO THESE OTHER CITIES THAT ALSO HAVE HIGH DIVERSION RATES, UH, HAVE THOSE LONG-TERM COMMITMENTS AS WELL AS, AS MANDATES.

AND SO AUSTIN HAS BEEN, UH, A LEADER IN RECYCLING AND AS WELL AS ZERO WASTE FOR QUITE SOME PERIOD OF TIME, BUT IT'S NOT AS LONG AS, AS WHAT WE SEE OUT THERE ON THE WEST COAST.

AND WE DON'T HAVE ANY TYPES OF MANDATES ON A STATEWIDE LEVEL HERE IN TEXAS, LIKE YOU WOULD SEE, UH, OUT ON, ON THE WEST COAST.

UH, WE ALSO FOUND, AND THIS WAS, WAS PRETTY INTERESTING, THAT FOR THOSE CITIES THAT REALLY FOCUS ON THE VARIETY OF SECTORS, SO NOT ONLY, UH, THE RESIDENTIAL, BUT ALSO MULTIFAMILY, COMMERCIAL C AND D, THAT THEY HAVE A HIGHER DIVERSION RATES.

AND A LOT OF THAT REASONING, WE THINK IS BECAUSE WHENEVER YOU'RE RECYCLING AT HOME, AND THEN YOU CAN ALSO RECYCLE AT WORK OR WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING WITHIN THE COMMUNITY THAT YOU LIVE IN, YOU KNOW, IT JUST MAKES IT THAT MUCH MORE AN IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT YOU DO ON AN EVERYDAY TYPE OF BASIS.

UM, ALSO, EACH OF THOSE OTHER CITIES, THEY HAVE COMBINATIONS OF, OF MANDATES AND OR ENFORCEMENT DOWN TO THE HOUSEHOLD LEVEL AS WELL AS MATERIAL BANS.

UH, THERE ARE OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS THAT, THAT ARE DOING THAT.

BUT I THINK TO THIS POINT, AUSTIN HAS LOOKED MORE TOWARD A VOLUNTARY TYPE OF, OF AN APPROACH.

BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING TO, TO KEEP INTO CONSIDERATION AS WELL.

UM, ALSO, THERE ARE CHALLENGES NOT ONLY WITHIN AUSTIN, BUT AMONGST MANY OF THE OTHER CITIES IN TERMS OF GETTING REALLY GOOD DATA FROM THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR.

UH, SO THAT, THAT IS A RELATIVELY COMMON CHALLENGE.

AND THEN HOW AUSTIN IS, IS FRAMING ZERO WASTE IN TERMS OF IT BEING A LONG-TERM VISION, IS REALLY CONSISTENT WITH NOT ONLY, UH, THESE OTHER CITIES, BUT ALSO THE, THE BROADER, UH, SOLID WASTE INDUSTRY.

AND WHAT WE MEAN BY THAT IS, AND I THINK IT'S, UH, COMMUNICATED PRETTY, PRETTY CLEARLY IN THE PLAN, IS THAT THE VISION IS TO ACHIEVE A 90%, UH, DIVERSION RATE, BUT THERE ARE MORE SHORT TERM GOALS THAT GET A, THAT FOCUS ON ISSUES SUCH AS DECREASING PER CAPITA DISPOSAL, AS WELL AS CAPTURE RATE.

AND I'LL, I'LL JUMP A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO DETAIL ABOUT WHAT WE MEAN BY CAPTURE RATE IN, IN JUST A MOMENT.

SO SOME OF THE, THE KEY RECOMMENDATIONS ARE TO, TO AGAIN, FOCUS ON SOME OF THOSE, UH, COMPLIMENTARY MEASUREMENT METHODS.

UH, THE ONES THAT I, THAT I JUST MENTIONED, UH, CONTINUING TO EVALUATE OPTIONS TO OBTAIN, UH, DATA FROM HAULERS AND A R R IS ALREADY, UM, MOVING FORWARD WITH CHARACTERIZATION STUDIES AND MAKING SURE THAT THOSE ARE ABLE TO ALSO CAPTURE, UM, CAPTURE RATE TYPE INFORMATION.

UM, SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE BENCHMARKING, UH, EFFORTS.

AND SO THEN FROM A, A RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS PERSPECTIVE, A R R TASKED BURNS AND MAC, AND IT, AND IT WASN'T JUST BURNS AND MCDONALD, BUT WE HAD A NUMBER OF GREAT TEAMING PARTNERS AS AS WELL.

UH, BUT WE WERE TASKED WITH RESEARCHING, UH, THESE VARIOUS TOPICS THAT ARE GENERALLY ORGANIZED BASED ON THE CATEGORIES OF RESIDENTIAL, PRIVATE FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE, AND THEN CITYWIDE ISSUES.

SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO NOW IS, IS JUST TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF EACH ONE OF THESE THREE CATEGORIES, AND THEN TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE, THE KEY ASPECTS, UH, WITHIN THEM.

SO I'M GONNA START WITH, WITH RESIDENTIAL.

SO AGAIN,

[00:15:01]

I'LL, I'LL PROVIDE A, A BROAD OVERVIEW, AND THEN FOR THAT ONE, AS AN EXAMPLE, WE ARE GONNA TALK ABOUT ISSUES SUCH AS ALTERNATIVE METRICS, UH, HARD TO RECYCLE MATERIALS, AS WELL AS, UH, SOME KEY ISSUES ON, ON RECYCLING, ON RESIDENTIAL COLLECTION.

AND THEN WE'LL HAVE SIMILAR PARTS OF THE PRESENTATION ON THE OTHER TWO CATEGORIES.

SO FROM A, A RESIDENTIAL PERSPECTIVE, AS, AS I MENTIONED, UH, A MOMENT AGO FROM MORE OF A, A SHORT-TERM PLANNING PERSPECTIVE, IT'S, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO IMPLEMENT ALTERNATIVE METRICS, UM, INCLUDING PER CAPITA DISPOSAL AND, AND CAPTURE RATES IN ORDER TO SET AND TRACK SHORT-TERM GOALS.

SO DIRECTOR MCHA AND, AND RON ROMERO AND I, WERE, WE'RE ALL AT THE US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS, UH, MUNICIPAL WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION SUMMIT, UH, JUST GOT BACK TODAY.

IT WAS IN MINNEAPOLIS.

AND SO YESTERDAY, SEVERAL OTHER HIGH PERFORMING ZERO WASTE TYPE CITIES TALKED ABOUT, UH, HOW THEY'RE DOING FROM A, A CAPTURE RATE PERSPECTIVE.

AND SO WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT HOW THEY'RE MEASURING THEIR PERFORMANCE, IT, IT WAS ALL ABOUT CAPTURE RATE.

AND SO FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO BE MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION, UH, IN OUR OPINION MAKES, MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.

SO WHAT IS A CAPTURE RATE? IT'S, IT'S AN EXAMPLE OF THAT IS ON THE UPPER RIGHT PORTION OF THIS SLIDE.

AND SO THIS IS AN EXAMPLE FOR, FOR PLASTIC, UH, BUT IT COULD BE REALLY ANYTHING.

AND, AND IT'S INTENDED TO CALCULATE THE PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF MATERIAL THAT IS GENERATED.

AND SO THAT MATERIAL THAT GETS GENERATED, IT CAN EITHER GO TO LANDFILL OR HOPEFULLY IT DOES GET RECYCLED.

IN THIS, IN THIS EXAMPLE, IT'S ABOUT 2,900 TONS IS, IS GETTING RECYCLED.

SO THE MATH IS, IS SIMPLY, UH, TAKING THE RECYCLED PART AND DIVIDING IT BY THE TOTAL GENERATION.

SO IN THIS EXAMPLE, 52% OF THE, OF THE PLASTICS THAT WOULD BE GENERATED, UH, ARE GETTING RECYCLED.

AND WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE NEXT SLIDE IN TERMS OF PRIORITIZING, CAPTURING THE MATERIAL WITH THE GREATEST, UH, FUTURE DIVERSION POTENTIAL.

SO THE WHOLE IDEA THERE IS THAT CITY OF AUSTIN HAS ALREADY MADE, UH, SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS IN ITS COLLECTION INFRASTRUCTURE, COLLABORATED, PARTNERED WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR ON, UH, RECYCLING PROCESSING FACILITIES OR ORMS. AND SO WE WANNA GET THE, THE, THE BEST USE OUT OF, OUT OF THOSE INVESTMENTS.

AND SO THE, THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT IS BY CAPTURING MORE OF THOSE MATERIALS.

AND THEN AN, UH, ANOTHER ISSUE THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT IN JUST A MOMENT IS INCREASING ACCESS TO PROPER MANAGEMENT OF HARD TO RECYCLE MATERIALS.

UH, SO THE CITY DOES HAVE A, A GREAT FACILITY, UH, IN THE RR D O C, UH, BUT IT'S LOCATED ON, ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE CITY, DOES A GREAT JOB IN SERVICING THOSE RESIDENTS, BUT IT ALSO, UH, WOULD MAKE SENSE TO LOOK AT A FUTURE FACILITY THAT'S CLOSER TO OTHER RESIDENTS, MORE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE CITY.

SO IN TERMS OF PRIORITIZING THE, AND CAPTURING MATERIAL WITH THE GREATEST FUTURE DIVERSION POTENTIAL, UH, WE JUST UTILIZE THE DATA FROM THE CITY'S, UM, CHARACTERIZATION AND OTHER, UH, DATA THAT THE CITY HAS AND JUST SIMPLY RANKED THE MATERIAL TYPES THAT CAN EITHER GO IN BLUE TO RECYCLING OR IN GREEN TO COMPOSTING, UH, BY THE, THE TOTAL TONS.

AND JUST WE'RE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WHAT THE CURRENT AMOUNT IS THAT'S DIVERTED, AND THEN WHAT THE CAPTURE RATE WAS BASED ON THE 2018 DATA.

AND THEN CONSISTENT WITH THAT CONCEPT OF A 90% DIVERSION GOAL.

BUT IN THIS CASE, IT'S FOCUSED ON THE MATERIALS THAT WE KNOW CAN ABSOLUTELY BE RECYCLED.

UH, WE LOOKED AT THAT IN TERMS OF HOW MUCH MORE MATERIAL COULD BE RECYCLED IF THE CITY WOULD SET A GOAL OF CAPTURING 90% OF THAT MATERIAL.

AND THAT'S WHAT'S SHOWN ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE.

UH, I WILL SAY THAT, THAT FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, 90% CAPTURE RATE IS A VERY CHALLENGING GOAL.

UH, THE DATA THAT WE, THAT WE SAW YESTERDAY FROM THE CITY OF SEATTLE, YEAH, THEY MAY BE HIGHER ON SOME OF THESE PERCENTAGES, BUT THEY'RE NOT EVEN AT, AT A 90% CAPTURE RATE ON A LOT OF THESE MATERIALS.

UH, SO FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO SET A 90% CAPTURE RATE GOAL ON THESE MATERIALS IS, IS CERTAINLY GOING TO BE A, A CHALLENGING GOAL AHEAD OF, OF AUSTIN.

SO GOING BACK TO, UH, INCREASING THE ACCESS, UH, FOR THE PROPER MANAGEMENT OF THE HARD TO TO RECYCLE MATERIALS.

UH, THE GREEN DOT THAT IS, UH, KIND OF IN THE, THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE SLIDE IN, IN THE MIDDLE, THAT'S THE EXISTING FACILITY.

AND SO THIS IS A HEAT MAP, UM, THAT SHOWS, BUT ON A ZIP CODE BASIS, WHO IS ACCESSING THAT, THAT FACILITY? SO YOU CAN JUST SEE THERE'S, THERE'S MORE DOTS ON, ON THE SOUTHERN

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SIDE OF THE CITY THAN ON, ON THE NORTH SIDE, UH, ESSENTIALLY BROKEN OUT BETWEEN RED BEING ON THE SOUTH SIDE AND, AND THE BLUE BEING MORE SO ON, ON THE NORTH SIDE.

SO THIS IS JUST A KIND OF A, A STRAIGHTFORWARD WAY TO SHOW THAT THERE'S A LOT MORE ACCESS TO THE FACILITY BY THE FOUR CLOSEST ZIP CODES, UH, THAT ARE THERE IN, IN SOUTH AUSTIN.

SO MOVING ON TO, UH, THE NEXT CATEGORY OF, OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND, AND PRIVATE ENTITIES.

, SOME OF THE, THE KEY ISSUES HERE ARE TO CONTINUE TO MONITOR PROCESSING AND DISPOSAL CAPACITY IN THE REGION.

AUSTIN CONTINUES TO GROW SUBSTANTIALLY, AS, AS WE ALL KNOW.

AND SO THAT'S GONNA MORE QUICKLY CONSUME LANDFILL SPACE.

UM, EVEN IF AUSTIN IS, IS VERY SUCCESSFUL FROM A DIVERSION PERSPECTIVE, THERE'S, UH, MANY OTHER COMMUNITIES, UH, THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF, OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN THAT MAY NOT HAVE, UH, SIMILAR GOALS.

AND THEN ALSO AS AUSTIN CONTINUES TO GROW, TRAFFIC, UH, GETS MORE AND MORE FUN, RIGHT? UH, UTILIZING TRANSFER STATIONS, UH, IS GONNA BE A KEY PART OF, OF THE FUTURE STRATEGY.

AND THEN JUST AS IMPORTANT AS FOOD WASTE IS ON THE RESIDENTIAL SECTOR, UH, IT'S ALSO VERY IMPORTANT, UH, TO FOCUS FOOD WASTE DIVERSION EFFORTS, UM, ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE, ON ON LARGE GENERATORS.

SO THINK, UH, FOOD PROCESSORS, WHOLESALE FOOD DISTRIBUTORS, AND RETAIL GROCERY STORES.

UH, ONE OF THE KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM THE 2011 PLAN WAS THE U R O.

UH, BUT THERE WILL BE OPPORTUNITIES TO CONTINUE TO EXPAND AND ENHANCE THAT PROGRAM AS WELL.

THIS IS A, A MAP, UH, JUST SHOWING WHERE LANDFILLS ARE IN THE REGION.

AND SO CITY OF AUSTIN HAS A, HAS HAD A LONG-TERM SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH ITS CURRENT LANDFILL, UH, WITH T D S, UH, BUT AGAIN, AS, AS THE CITY CONTINUES TO GROW, UH, ESPECIALLY, UH, ON THE NORTH SIDE, AND AS TRAFFIC GETS MORE CHALLENGING, YOU KNOW, IT'S A 60 MILE ROUND TRIP, UH, WHEN YOU HAVE A, A GARBAGE TRUCK, UH, THAT'S OUT ON ROUTE AND HAS TO GO BACK AND, AND GET A SECOND OR THIRD LOAD FROM THE, UH, DURING THE COURSE OF THE DAY.

AND THAT JUST MAKES COLLECTIONS, UH, THAT MUCH MORE CHALLENGING.

SO FROM A A CITYWIDE PERSPECTIVE, UH, THIS IS WHERE WE COLLABORATED WITH A NUMBER OF OUR TEAMING PARTNERS THAT, THAT REALLY FOCUS ON THE COMMUNICATION SIDE.

UM, SO I'M, I'M VERY MUCH A SOLID WASTE RECYCLING DIVERSION, UH, TYPE PERSON.

SO TO GET THEIR PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO COMMUNICATE WITH RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN WAS, WAS, UH, PRETTY, NOT JUST INTERESTING, BUT I THINK WILL BE VERY IMPORTANT GOING FORWARD, UH, AS THE CITY, UH, CONTINUES TO IMPLEMENT, UH, ITS ZERO WASTE INITIATIVES.

AND SO, UH, THIS WAS A, AN EFFORT TO INTRODUCE, UH, THE QUESTION OF HOW DO YOU INTRODUCE THE, THE CONCEPT OF ZERO WASTE ON A COMMUNITY-WIDE BASIS IN A ACCESSIBLE AND SIMPLE, UH, TYPE OF, TYPE OF WAY, AS WELL AS RECOGNIZING THAT RECYCLING IS, IS JUST A PART OF THE, OF THE SOLUTION.

AND IT'S NOT A REALLY, EVEN THE, THE PRIMARY FOCUS AS WE WANT TO, UH, CONTINUE TO EXPAND, UH, REUSE AND, AND WASTE REDUCTION PROGRAMS AND OPPORTUNITIES.

SO HOW DO YOU COMMUNICATE THAT EFFECTIVELY, UH, ACROSS THE COMMUNITY? AND THEN ALSO WHAT CAN BE DONE TO ENGAGE BUSINESSES ON THE, UH, TOPICS THAT ARE SO IMPORTANT AS A PART OF A CIRCULAR ECONOMY.

UH, SO THIS SLIDE IS, IS, UM, ONE OF THE KEY, KEY ONES THAT COMMUNICATE THAT, THAT TYPE OF INFORMATION.

SO I THINK ESSENTIALLY WHAT, WHAT THE OTHER CONSULTANTS ON OUR TEAM WERE SAYING WAS, IF YOU WANT TO GET PEOPLE TO, TO DO ZERO WASTE, JUST DON'T USE THE TERM ZERO WASTE.

IS, IS ONE THAT, THAT THE CITY, UH, HAS, UH, IMPLEMENTED FOR, FOR QUITE SOME TIME AS PART OF ITS EFFECTIVE PROGRAM THERE.

IS ESSENTIALLY WHAT THEY WERE SAYING.

UM, BUT WHAT THEY WERE SAYING IS, YOU JUST NEED TO COME UP WITH SIMPLE AND DIRECT LANGUAGE TO AFFECT RECYCLING BEHAVIOR.

AND THIS GRAPHIC ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE THAT, THAT THE A R R STAFF HAVE, HAVE DEVELOPED AND IMPLEMENTED IS A REALLY A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF THAT.

WE'RE JUST ASKED THE BASIC QUESTION BOTH IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH, WHAT CAN I COMPOST? AND THEN PROVIDES, UM, A COMBINATION OF, OF CLEAR, UH, GRAPHICS OR, OR PICTURES OF WHAT CAN BE COMPOSTED WITH JUST VERY SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD, UH, LANGUAGE, UM, ABOUT WHAT THOSE MATERIALS ARE.

SO THEN I, IT WAS ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT TO, TO FOCUS ON, UH, THAT SIMPLE AND, AND DIRECT LANGUAGE, UM, TO BUILD CITYWIDE FAMILIARITY WITH THESE, THESE CONCEPTS.

RIGHT? AND SO THIS NEXT SLIDE COMMUNICATES, UH, WHAT SOME OF THOSE ARE FOR.

SO IF WE'RE SAYING DON'T SAY ZERO WASTE, WHAT DO YOU COMMUNICATE INSTEAD? SO THESE ARE, ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF THAT.

UM, AND FIX IT.

AUSTIN

[00:25:01]

I THINK MY FAVORITE ONE IS, YOU KNOW, IS RATHER THAN GIVE SOMEBODY, YOU KNOW, SOME TYPE OF A, A PRESENT PRESENT, THAT'S A THING THAT MAYBE SOMEBODY DOESN'T WANT.

INSTEAD PROVIDE SOMEBODY WITH AN EXPERIENCE, YOU KNOW, IT'S PROBABLY GONNA HAVE A MUCH LONGER LASTING IMPACT ON WHATEVER THAT EXPERIENCE IS, UH, AS THINGS CAN, YOU KNOW, QUICKLY BE SET ASIDE.

SO THESE WERE, WERE SOME OF THE IDEAS, UH, ON THAT TO ADVANCE, UH, HOW TO MOVE FORWARD, UH, ZERO WASTE CONCEPTS.

SO AS I MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PRESENTATION, STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT WAS A, A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF, OF THIS PROCESS.

SO IT INCLUDED, UH, NOT ONLY, UH, MULTIPLE PRESENTATIONS, UH, BEFORE THE ZERO WASTE ADVISORY COMMISSION, UH, BUT ALSO A NUMBER OF OTHER EFFORTS, UM, INCLUDING FOCUS GROUPS AND, AND SURVEYS.

I WILL MENTION THAT WHERE THOSE EFFORTS WERE A PART OF THE ORIGINAL STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PLAN.

WE ALSO HAD A NUMBER OF OTHER INITIATIVES THAT REALLY FOCUSED ON GOING OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND MEETING PEOPLE AND BUSINESSES AT THE PLACES WHERE THEY WOULD TYPICALLY BE.

UH, SO IF YOU'RE GONNA BE AT A, SAY, SOME TYPE OF A FESTIVAL TO SET UP A BOOTH AND BE ABLE TO TALK TO PEOPLE THERE, OR IF YOU WANT TO TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT POTENTIAL INTEREST IN, UH, FOOD, FOOD, SCRAP DIVERSION, TO ACTUALLY TALK WITH THEM REAL BRIEFLY AT AS THEY'RE EITHER COMING OR GOING AT A, AT A GROCERY STORE.

SO WE HAD THIS GREAT PLAN, WE'RE ALSO EXCITED TO, TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT.

AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED, RIGHT, COVID? SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE RECOGNIZED THAT A R R RECOGNIZED THAT, YOU KNOW, WE PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER, REVAMPED WHAT WE DID FROM A STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE, AND THAT'S WHAT'S COMMUNICATED ON THIS NEXT SLIDE.

UH, SO IN 2020, UH, 46 ORGANIZATIONS AND BUSINESSES REC REPRESENTING SEVEN KEY STAKEHOLDER GROUPS, I SHARED THEIR PERSPECTIVES, UH, THROUGH A SERIES OF FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS.

AND THEN IN 2021, UH, ABOUT 50 RESIDENTS THAT WERE REPRESENTING ALL 10 OF THE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS, UH, ALSO PARTICIPATED IN SEPARATE FOCUS GROUPS, UM, WHERE THEY DESCRIBED THEIR RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING HABITS, AND THEN TALKED WITH A R R ABOUT WAYS IN WHICH THOSE COULD BE IMPROVED.

AND THEN THERE WERE, UH, TWO COMMUNITY SURVEYS, ONE IN 2020, AND THEN ANOTHER ONE IN, IN 2021, UH, TO GET THEIR FEEDBACK ON A NUMBER OF, OF KEY ISSUES.

AND SO THAT THOSE SURVEYS WERE, WERE SUCCESSFUL IN GETTING, UH, FEEDBACK FROM MORE THAN 3000 PEOPLE, UH, WITHIN THE CITY.

SO WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO TURN THINGS BACK OVER TO JASON.

THERE YOU GO.

WHERE WE'RE, YEAH.

SO, UM, TO ME, SO YEAH, SO LIKE I SAID, THIS HAS BEEN A LONG PROCESS, UM, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT HAS CHANGED SINCE 2011.

AND SO WE, THIS PLAN YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU HAS A LARGE NUMBER OF GOALS.

UM, I WANT TO, YOU KNOW, JUST REMIND EVERYONE THIS IS, THIS IS A PLAN.

THERE WILL BE FUTURE STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS, THERE WILL BE FUTURE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT EVERY ONE OF THESE THINGS IN THIS PLAN AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

AND SO SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS, UH, JUST TO CALL ATTENTION TO OR JUST THE ON-CALL SERVICES ARE CALLED OUT HERE.

THESE ARE, YOU KNOW, THE ON-CALL, UH, BULKY ITEM PICKUPS, UM, AT, AT PEOPLE'S HOMES WHERE THEY'RE ABLE TO DO THAT.

UM, INFRASTRUCTURE EXPANSION IS GOING TO BE A HUGE COMPONENT OF THIS.

COMMISSIONER GATTUSO? UH, YES.

, UH, SERVICE CENTERS, TRANSFER STATIONS.

AND THAT REALLY FEEDS INTO THIS IDEA OF FLEET ELECTRIFICATION, WHICH IS A HUGE GOAL WE HAVE FOR THE DEPARTMENT.

AND SO WE NEED THESE THINGS IN PLACE TO BE ABLE TO ELECTRIFY OUR FLEET.

AND AS SCOTT MENTIONED, UH, DATA AND DATA MANAGEMENT IS ALSO A BIG COMPONENT OF US MOVING FORWARD AND KIND OF LOOKING NOT JUST AT DIVERSION RATE, BUT TAKING IN DIFFERENT IDEAS, YOU KNOW, WITH PER CAPITA DISPOSAL AND CAPTURE RATE AND KIND OF EXPAND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.

SO, UM, THAT'S IT.

AND SO I THINK WE'LL TURN IT OVER FOR QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU SCOTT AND JASON.

YEP.

GUYS.

WONDERFUL.

AND WE DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.

HI, SCOTT.

GOOD EVENING.

UM, THE, UM, THE CAPTURE RATE, UH, FOR FOOD WASTE WAS 29% HERE IN AUSTIN.

UM, THAT'S A LITTLE DISAPPOINTING.

AND IT'S ONLY BEEN IMPLEMENTED ON A CITYWIDE BASIS NOW FOR, FOR A COUPLE YEARS.

, UH, WHAT ABOUT OTHER CITIES THAT YOU HAD IN YOUR SURVEY? YEAH, THAT'S, I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN A PICTURE OF SOME OF THE OTHER CITIES THAT REPORTED ON THAT AT THE SESSION YESTERDAY, BUT THEY, THEY PROBABLY WEREN'T AS HIGH AS AS, AS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THEM IN THOSE OTHER CITIES AS WELL.

UM, SO THIS IS AN ISSUE WHERE I THINK YOU JUST HAVE TO GIVE THAT TIME BECAUSE IT, IT IS STILL A VERY, VERY NEW PROGRAM

[00:30:01]

AND I THINK THERE'S STILL A NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE THAT KIND OF QUOTE ICK FACTOR YEAH.

OF, OF, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, IS IT REALLY OKAY TO, EVEN THOUGH THEY, THEY'RE FINE PUTTING THEIR FOOD WASTE IN THE TRASH, ALL WE'RE SAYING IS PUT IT IN ANOTHER BIN.

UH, BUT THERE'S STILL, I THINK JUST A, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF EDUCATION AND, AND OUTREACH THAT THAT'S GONNA NEED TO OCCUR AND, AND IS, IS HAPPENING AND WILL CONTINUE TO OCCUR.

BUT OTHER CITIES FACE VERY SIMILAR CHALLENGES WITH, WITH FOOD WASTE.

UH, AND SO YOU'RE RECOMMENDING THOSE TWO THINGS, THE OUTREACH AND MORE COMMUNICATION? YES.

I MEAN, CONTINUED, UM, WELL CONTINUED, YEAH.

VERY, YEAH.

VERY SPECIFIC COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT, UH, WHAT CAN BE DONE ON, ON THOSE LEVELS IS, IS GONNA BE VERY IMPORTANT.

AND, UM, LET'S SEE HERE.

LEMME GET MY PAPERS IN ORDER.

SO, UM, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, UM, EXPANDING, UM, WELL ACTUALLY, UH, WASTE REDUCTION PROGRAMS. SO IF WE'RE LOOKING AT THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN HERE IN AUSTIN, UM, WE NEED TO EXPAND.

WE NEED TO REDUCE, UH, WASTE MORE THAN WE'RE DOING.

AND IN THE PLAN, UH, IT WAS ZERO TO FIVE YEARS, AND THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY, UH, GROUP COMMITTEE SAID THAT IT NEEDS TO BE ZERO TO TWO YEARS AND THEN TWO PLUS YEARS.

WELL, THAT NEEDS TO BE JUST, YOU KNOW, LEVEL CONSTANT.

AND THEN ON THE TWO PLUS YEARS IT NEEDS TO GO DOWN, WE NEED TO DECREASE OUR WASTE.

, UM, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT? I, I CAN TALK ABOUT IT GENERALLY FROM A PLANNING PERSPECTIVE.

UM, I MEAN, OUR RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE TYPICALLY WHEN YOU'RE GONNA, UH, LOOK AT A ZERO WASTE OR SOLID WASTE PLANNING EFFORT, WE WOULD LOOK AT, UM, SHORT TERM PRIORITIES TO BE WITHIN A ZERO TO FIVE YEAR PERIOD.

AND THEN TO, UM, BECAUSE A LOT OF, A LOT OF PROGRAMS, EVEN IF THEY ARE A HIGH PRIORITY, MAY TAKE, UM, A NUMBER, YOU KNOW, QUITE A WHILE TO ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO, TO IMPLEMENT IT.

BUT WHEN YOU LOOK BACK AT THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM THE 2011 PLAN, I MEAN, THAT INCLUDED NOT ONLY EXTENSIVE RESEARCH AND PLANNING, BUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORDINANCES AND FROM A PUBLIC POLICY PERSPECTIVE MM-HMM.

MAKING SURE THAT YOU HAD APPROPRIATE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.

AND SO, UM, WHILE SOME THINGS CAN CERTAINLY BE IMPLEMENTED SOONER, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THOSE OTHER INITIATIVES MAY TAKE, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHERE CLOSER TO, TO A FIVE YEAR PERIOD OF TIME TO IMPLEMENT THOSE.

I MEAN, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT EVERYTHING THAT IS A PRIORITY SHOULD TAKE FIVE YEARS, BUT IT JUST RECOGNIZES THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME THINGS JUST CAN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT.

SO IN OUR COMMUNICATION IN AUSTIN, IT SEEMS LIKE WE HAVEN'T, UH, SOMEBODY CAN CORRECT ME 'CAUSE I MAY BE WRONG ON THIS.

AND IT, AND JUST MY IMPRESSION IS THAT WE'RE NOT TALKING ENOUGH ABOUT, UH, THE, UH, IMPACTS ON OUR CLIMATE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ZERO WASTE AND MM-HMM.

, DO YOU RECOMMEND THAT? AND DO YOU FEEL AUSTIN'S DONE A GOOD JOB ON THAT? OR SHOULD WE PICK THAT UP? BECAUSE I THINK THAT SOME PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE AND THE ACTUALLY THE DANGER IN SOME OF THESE THINGS, FOR INSTANCE, PLASTICS MM-HMM.

TO RECYCLE THEM.

IT'S PUTTING ALL KINDS OF STUFF IN OUR AIR.

RIGHT, RIGHT.

SIMILARLY WITH, WITH ALUMINUM.

I THINK THE CHALLENGE WITH THAT IS LIKE THE LAST PART OF OUR PRE OF THE PRESENTATION WHERE WE TALKED ABOUT COMMUNICATING INFORMATION IN VERY SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD WAYS.

YOU KNOW, IF YOU INTRODUCE THE, THE IDEA OF IMPACTS FROM A, A CLIMATE PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU DO THAT IN A WAY THAT IS STILL, YOU KNOW, VERY SIMPLE AND, AND UNDERSTANDABLE.

SO I THINK IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S DEFINITELY HAS AN, AN IMPORTANT PLACE, BUT IT'S JUST A MATTER OF WHAT WILL BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO COMMUNICATE THAT.

UM, AND DO YOU HAVE IDEAS ON THAT? YEAH, YEAH, I DO.

UM, I MEAN, LIKE, LIKE YOU JUST MENTIONED PLASTIC, I MEAN, JUST LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, FOR EVERY, EVERY PLASTIC PIECE THAT EITHER GETS RECYCLED OR MORE IMPORTANTLY, DOESN'T GET USED IN THE FIRST PLACE, CAN HAVE A, A VERY SUBSTANTIAL POSITIVE BENEFIT FROM A GREENHOUSE GAS PERSPECTIVE.

THAT'S RIGHT.

UM, AND THEN ON THE FOOD WASTE SIDE, YOU KNOW, IF THAT MATERIAL DOESN'T GO INTO A LANDFILL AND, AND CREATE METHANE AND INSTEAD RIGHT.

YOU KNOW, CAN BE MADE INTO COMPOST, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A VERY EFFECTIVE WAY TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GASES.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I'M JUST NOT, WE HAVEN'T, WE HAVEN'T BEEN DIRECTLY INVOLVED WITH, UH, THE CLIMATE PLANNING EFFORTS, BUT TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE THOSE TYPES OF, OF CONCEPTS, UM, INTO, INTO WHAT THEY'RE COMMUNICATING WITH THE PUBLIC IN TERMS OF WHAT THOSE BENEFICIAL

[00:35:01]

IMPACTS ARE OF, OF NOT JUST RE RECYCLING, BUT REDUCING THE USE OF THOSE PRODUCTS, IT CAN HAVE A VERY POSITIVE GREENHOUSE GAS PERSPECTIVE.

SO DO YOU SEE THAT MOVING TOGETHER, UH, NOT JUST IN AUSTIN, BUT OTHER COMMUNITIES? UH, IN SOME COMMUNITIES, YES.

UM, BUT I, OTHER COMMUNITIES, UH, JUST HAVE, LIKE, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE NOT MOVED FORWARD WITH, UH, CLIMATE PLANS.

UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S DEFINITELY, UH, A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER WHO HAVE, BUT THERE'S STILL QUITE A FEW WHO HAVE NOT.

AND I THINK A LOT OF CITIES ARE STILL JUST REALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ARE, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO BE DOING FROM AN OVERALL CLIMATE PERSPECTIVE.

SO IN THAT REGARD, YOU KNOW, A CITY LIKE AUSTIN IS, IS, IS REALLY AHEAD OF THE CURVE, BUT I THINK IS STILL IN THE BEGINNING STAGES OF, UH, WHAT THE CITY IS GONNA DO FROM A CLIMATE PLANNING PERSPECTIVE.

AND, AND DO YOU, UH, RECOMMEND THAT OUR DEPARTMENT HERE, UH, MERGES MORE WITH THE CLIMATE PLANS? THE PLAN? I, I THINK IT'S JUST REALLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE THAT, THAT COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE MULTIPLE CITY DEPARTMENTS, BUT I WOULD, I WOULD REALLY DEFER TO THOSE DEPARTMENTS TO, TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ARE THE BEST WAYS FOR THEM TO, TO PARTNER TOGETHER.

AND SO JUST LOOKING AT THE PLASTICS, IF WE PUT SOMETHING UP THERE LIKE, GIVE UP THE PLASTIC HABIT, , YOU KNOW, UH, QUIT DRINKING, YOU KNOW, YOUR SODAS AND PLASTIC, UH, HAS ANYBODY DONE ANY OF THAT? YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK THERE'S, THERE'S DEFINITELY AN IMPORTANT FOCUS ON, ON REDUCTION, UH, SOURCE REDUCTION.

AND I, I THINK THERE'S ACTUALLY DIRECTOR MCHALE WHEN WE HAD, UM, ONE OF OUR EARLY DISCUSSIONS, UH, DURING THE PLANNING PROCESS STORY, YOU KNOW, HE BROUGHT UP, YOU KNOW, THAT IN SOME OF THE MORE MINORITY COMMUNITIES, THEY MAY HAVE MORE OF A RELUCTANCE TO TRUST MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEMS, AND SO THEY MAY HAVE MORE OF AN INCLINATION TO PURCHASE PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES.

AND SO JUST FIGURING OUT HOW DO YOU COMMUNICATE THAT INFORMATION, YOU KNOW, TO THAT PART OF THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY, I THINK IS GONNA BE A REALLY IMPORTANT WAY TO ADDRESS NOT ONLY THE, THE CLIMATE, BUT ALSO EQUITY ISSUES HERE IN AUSTIN.

I SEE.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED FROM A, A PLASTIC BAG, UH, PERSPECTIVE HERE, HERE IN AUSTIN.

DO YOU WANNA SAY SOMETHING? YEAH, JUST REAL QUICK, UM, ON THAT, ALONG THOSE LINES.

AND SO JUST SPEAKING TO PLASTICS AND DISPOSAL RATE ITSELF.

SO, UM, WHAT WE'VE GOT IN THE PLAN RIGHT NOW IS, UM, A R R WILL TO MAINTAIN A PER CAPITA DISPOSAL RATE OF ABOUT FOUR POUNDS, UM, PER RESIDENT HERE FOR SERVICED HOUSEHOLD.

AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT HOVERING AROUND RIGHT NOW.

UM, IF WE BRO, EXPAND THAT TO THE BROADER COMMUNITY AND WHAT WE SEE ACROSS THE STATE, YOU'RE HAVING CLOSER TO SEVEN TO 7.2%.

SO WE ALREADY HAVE A PRETTY AGGRESSIVE GOAL HERE FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, BRINGING THAT, UH, PER CAPITA DISPOSAL RATE DOWN WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT PLASTIC.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE AS A COMMUNITY, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN, AND WE HOPE THAT WE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE ESPECIALLY TALKING ABOUT EDUCATING, ABOUT REUSE, REDUCING PLASTICS, WE'VE RUN A NUMBER OF CAMPAIGNS OVER THIS PAST YEAR.

UM, BUT WHAT I WILL SAY, IT'S, IT'S, THERE'S A BROADER SUPPLY CHAIN ACROSS THE FULL SUPPLY CHAIN.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT JUST HOW THEY'RE EVEN DESIGNED THAT GO BEYOND THE BORDERS OF AUSTIN.

AND SO WE ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THOSE, WE'RE PART OF THE US PLASTIC PACT.

AND SO WE DO, WE ARE REGULARLY HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS TO TRY TO, YOU KNOW, INFLUENCE THE LARGER PLASTIC DISCUSSION.

SO IT'S, IT'S A MAJOR PROBLEM WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PER CAP DISPOSAL, BECAUSE WE TALK ABOUT SPECIALTY PLASTICS AND PLASTIC PACKAGING.

UM, THAT'S WHY WE'RE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANT TO GO TOO LOW WITH SETTING AN EXPECTATION WITH THE COMMUNITY OF HAVING A VERY LOW PER, UH, PER CAPITA DISPOSAL RATE, UM, WHEN THE REALITY IS THE DATA IS SHOWING THAT IT'S ACTUALLY MAINTAINING OR GOING UP EVERYWHERE MM-HMM.

AND SO WE WANT TO USE THAT AS A REALISTIC CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND WITH EVERYONE AND SAY, YOU KNOW, THIS NEEDS TO BE TURNED AROUND.

SO THANK YOU, JASON.

DOES ANYBODY ELSE WANNA TALK ABOUT THIS? ANY OTHER COMMENTS? CRAIG? UH, YES.

I, I THINK THIS PLAN WAS VERY GOOD AND THOROUGH.

I WAS IMPRESSED IN READING IT.

I JUST WANNA SAY THAT, THAT I WAS REAL HAPPY TO SEE THAT, UH, WHEN YOU'RE COMPARING US TO OTHER CITIES, UH, DID YOU TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT THERE'S A STATE LEVEL AND THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME STATES ALLOW CITIES TO JUST, LIKE, IF YOU WANNA GET RID OF SU IT WAS LIKE OUR BAG ORDINANCE, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T HAND 'EM OUT AND THEY'RE GREATLY REDUCED PLASTIC, BUT THEN THE STATE GOES TO SAY, YOU CAN'T DO THAT.

SO DID YOU TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT WHEN YOU COMPARE US TO OTHER STATES? BUT I THINK THAT'S A, A PART OF THE OVERALL POLICY AND, UH, LEGAL ENVIRONMENT.

SO I, I THINK OVERALL WE, WE LOOKED AT THAT AND WE ARE DEFINITELY VERY MUCH AWARE OF THAT, THAT HISTORY OF, OF

[00:40:01]

AND JUST AS A, AS AN AUSTIN RESIDENT FOR A LONG TIME, EVEN THOUGH THAT ORDINANCE ESSENTIALLY WAS, WAS OVERTURNED, I STILL THINK THAT AUSTIN IS IN A, A MUCH BETTER PLACE YEAH.

COMPARED TO MANY OTHER CITIES, ESPECIALLY ONES IN, IN TEXAS, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S, THIS IS A GOOD THING.

IT'S A LOT HARDER TO GET, UH, THE SINGLE USE PLASTIC BAGS IN, IN AUSTIN THAN WHAT IT USED TO BE.

UH, SO I DON'T HAVE THE SPECIFIC DATA, BUT I THINK THAT IT IS DEFINITELY, UM, IN A MUCH BETTER SPOT HERE IN AUSTIN COMPARED TO A LOT OF OTHER COMMUNITIES.

AS A GUY WHO DOES CREEK CLEANUPS, I DEFINITELY THINK IT IMPROVED, IT CHANGED PEOPLE'S HABITS AND THEY DIDN'T GO ALL THE WAY BACK.

RIGHT.

AND, AND STORES TOO.

SO, UH, BUT I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S A VERY INTERESTING ASPECT OF THIS, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE THERE'S ONE THING YOU DO EDUCATION AND TRY TO GET PEOPLE TO CHANGE AND UNDERSTAND, BUT THEN THERE'S THIS OTHER WAY WHERE YOU JUST SAID, NO, YOU CAN'T DO THAT.

YOU KNOW, AND FOR GOOD REASONS, YOU KNOW.

UM, AND I JUST WANNA SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, I'VE SPENT THIS LAST SPRING AT THE STATE LEGISLATURE WITH THE SIERRA CLUB HELPING THEM LOBBY ON THINGS.

AND I THINK THIS IS ONE PLACE WHERE OUR COMMISSIONERS CAN HELP ON THAT IF, IF WE CAN DISCUSS THAT.

UM, BECAUSE I, I DON'T THINK THE STATE IS GONNA STAY THE WAY IT IS FOREVER.

I THINK THERE'S GONNA BE CHANGE AND, BECAUSE I THINK THAT WOULD HELP MOVE THIS FASTER.

'CAUSE I AGREE TOTALLY.

YOU KNOW, IT, IT, YOU KNOW, IT WAS A HOT SUMMER AND YOU THINK ABOUT FIVE MORE YEARS, HOT SUMMERS BEFORE WE CAN, YOU KNOW, MAKE SOME KIND OF IMPACT.

YOU KINDA GET DEPRESSED, I THINK , BUT, UH, YEAH.

BUT I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT THAT'S A VERY INTERESTING ASPECT ABOUT HOW THE STATE AND THE CITY WORKS.

BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS A VERY GOOD JOB.

THANK YOU, CRAIG.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? MELISSA? UH, FIRST OFF, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT THE DON'T BAG IT CAMPAIGN.

I'VE ACTUALLY SEEN THIS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU GUYS SOME POSITIVE FEEDBACK ON THAT.

I THINK THAT'S, UH, A GREAT ADDITION.

THEY'RE ON BILLBOARDS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, UM, REMINDING PEOPLE NOT TO BAG THEIR RECYCLABLES.

UM, I DO HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE ON-CALL BULK PICKUP.

I DON'T REMEMBER IF YOU GUYS SAID THAT THAT PILOT IS NOT CURRENTLY ACTIVE OR IF IT IS STILL ACTIVE.

HI, AMY'S LEGAL ACTING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

UH, THE ON-CALL BULK PILOT IS STILL ACTIVE.

UH, IT'S CURRENTLY ON TWO ROUTES.

WE ARE GETTING READY TO, UH, ADD TWO MORE ROUTES THIS COMING, UH, JANUARY.

AND WE ARE MAKING PLANS ON HOW WE CAN ROLL THAT OUT, UH, LATER NEXT YEAR.

SO IT IS STILL CURRENTLY ACTIVE.

WE ALSO HAVE A, UH, ON-CALL BRUSH PILOT THAT, UH, BEGAN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, UH, RIGHT AT THE END OF JANUARY.

AND THEN NEXT DAY WE HAD A CATASTROPHIC EYE STORM, SO WE HAD TO DELAY THAT A LITTLE BIT.

UH, BUT IT IS UP AND RUNNING AND WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN ROLL THAT OUT CITYWIDE.

GREAT.

AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION ACTUALLY HAS TO DO WITH THE ANNUAL REPORTING, UM, IN REGARDS TO THE U R O THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO DO.

UM, I HAVEN'T ACTUALLY SEEN THAT WEBSITE.

I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A PUBLIC FACING SIDE TO IT.

SO THAT'S MY QUESTION.

CAN THE PUBLIC ACCESS THE WEBSITE MM-HMM.

AND, YOU KNOW, FOR INSTANCE, LOOK UP THEIR APARTMENT COMPLEX AND SEE WHAT IS BEING SUBMITTED, WHAT THEY'RE SAYING, WHAT THE COSTS ARE.

SO LEMME MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND.

SO YOU'RE LOOKING FOR LIKE PUBLIC FACING THE DATA THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY SUBMITTING? RIGHT? UH, WE DON'T, WE HAVE SOME, UM, THAT WE, WE HAVE A ACCESS PORTAL THAT WE PROVIDE FOR EVERYONE THAT IS SUBMITTING A PLAN TO, BUT IT HAS SOME BASE LEVEL INFORMATION TYPICALLY ABOUT THEIR PROPERTY AND WHAT THEY'VE SUBMITTED IN THE PAST.

UM, BUT ALL THAT INFORMATION IS, IS PUBLIC INFORMATION.

AND SO WE DO, YOU KNOW, WE DO DO REGULAR REQUESTS FOR THAT AND WE'LL SUBMIT IT, BUT WE DON'T HAVE A PUBLIC FACING ONE WHERE IT'S SHOWING, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY DUMPSTERS THEY HAVE AND ET CETERA.

SO, UH, OKAY.

YEAH, I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT THAT BECAUSE OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GOT SOMETIMES AT THE, THE MEETINGS FOR THE U OUR COMMITTEES, ESPECIALLY IN TERMS OF PEOPLE BEING CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR APARTMENT COMPLEXES GOING TO CHARGE 'EM SO MUCH MONEY FOR THEIR TRASH SERVICES.

AND I KNOW WE CANNOT REALLY DEAL WITH THAT, UH, IN TERMS OF SAYING YOU CAN'T CHARGE X.

RIGHT.

AND SO FROM A TRANSPARENCY PERSPECTIVE, I WAS THINKING, OH, WELL, IF THERE WAS A PUBLIC FACING PORTION OF THAT WEBSITE WHERE PEOPLE COULD SEE WHAT THE PLANS ARE THAT ARE BEING SUBMITTED BY ALL THESE DIFFERENT COMMERCIAL ENTITIES, UM, YOU KNOW, WOULD THAT BE BENEFICIAL? SURE.

YEAH, WE CAN DEFINITELY TAKE THAT IN CONSIDERATION FOR SURE.

UH, WE DO COLLECT INFORMATION ON, YOU KNOW, SIZES OF DUMPSTERS AT EVERY PROPERTY AND, UM, BUT

[00:45:01]

THANK YOU, MELISSA.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONERS, AMANDA? YEAH, HI, I JUST A FEW THINGS.

UM, FIRST OF ALL, I'M SO IMPRESSED WITH THIS REPORT.

I APPRECIATE THE PROCESS AND I ESPECIALLY LIKE THE ATTENTION THAT YOU PAY TO DATA AND TO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT GETTING ADDITIONAL METRICS BEYOND DIVERSION RATE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING.

SO I, I REALLY, UM, I THINK IT'S A STRONG DOCUMENT AND COVERS SO MUCH OF WHAT WE WANNA SEE HAPPEN OVER THE NEXT FIVE AND 10 YEARS.

UM, I WAS ALSO GLAD TO SEE THAT SOME OF THE LANGUAGE ABOUT THE TRANSFER STATION IS A LITTLE CLOSER TO IMPLEMENTATION AND THEN THE FIRST DRAFT.

AND SO I, I APPRECIATE THAT, THAT THE NEXT STEP FOR TRANSFER STATIONS IS GOING, GOING TO BE MORE OF A, UH, BUDGETING AND PLANNING AS OPPOSED TO A COST BENEFIT KIND OF BIG PICTURE.

WHY WOULD YOU HAVE ONE? BUT MOVING BEYOND THAT TO CLOSER TO IMPLEMENTATION.

SO I APPRECIATE THAT AS WELL.

UM, ONE PROGRAM THAT I THOUGHT HAD BEEN PILOTED THAT I DIDN'T SEE MENTIONED OR DISCUSSED IN AS MUCH DETAIL WAS THE, UM, UH, CURBSIDE HAZARDOUS WASTE.

AND I KNOW WE'VE PILOTED, WE, YOU ALL HAVE PILOTED AND REPORTED BACK TO US ABOUT THAT, WHICH WAS, UH, VERY INTERESTING TO HEAR.

ANY, UM, THOUGHTS ABOUT EXPANDING, PILING, UM, DOING SOMETHING FURTHER WITH CURBSIDE COLLECTION OF HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE IN ADDITION TO EXPLORING WHAT AN ADDITIONAL DROP OFF CENTER MIGHT LOOK LIKE.

GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

RON ROMERO, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, UH, COMMISSIONER MASSINO.

YES.

UH, WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT NUMBERS AND, UH, THE SUCCESS THAT, THAT WE'VE HAD, AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF EXPANDING THAT TO TWO ADDITIONAL DISTRICTS.

UM, WE ARE CURRENTLY CALCULATING SOME NUMBERS, UH, WE'LL, WE WANNA BRING A REPORT TO THE COMMISSION HERE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.

UH, BUT YES, WE ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH EXPANDING THAT, UH, PILOT PROGRAM.

THAT, THAT'S GREAT.

THAT'S, I DIDN'T SEE IT AS AN EXPLICIT GOAL IN THE REPORT.

I SAW SOMETHING ABOUT WORKING WITH OTHER CITY ENTITIES ON HOUSEHOLD ON HAZARDOUS WASTE.

IS THERE A REASON THAT IT'S NOT A SEPARATE GOAL IN THE REPORT OR DID I PERHAPS MISS WHERE EXPANSION OF THAT PROGRAM WAS MENTIONED? RIGHT HERE, IT'S, UH, OR 9.3.

IT'S, YEAH, IT'S 9.3.

IT'S 9.3 IN THE REPORT, AND IT IS, UH, DETAILED IN THERE IN THE REPORT THAT WAS SUBMITTED.

SO THERE, THERE WAS ANOTHER SECTION ABOUT WORKING WITH OTHER CITY ENTITIES ON THEIR HAZARDOUS WASTE.

SO THAT IS A SEPARATE THING THAN THE DOOR TO DOOR.

NO, THIS IS WONDERFUL.

I'M SO GLAD TO SEE THAT THERE.

UH, SCOTT, MAYBE I CAN ASK A QUESTION WHILE JERRY, SO YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE COMMERCIAL WASTE GENERATION J UH, AND YOU SAID THAT WE'RE, WE'RE VOLUNTEER OF COURSE ON THAT.

ARE THERE ANY CITIES IN AUSTIN AND TEXAS THAT ARE NOT VOL ON THE VOLUNTEER BASIS? YEAH.

AND SO IN TERMS OF ONES THAT WOULD HAVE A, SAY A, A CITYWIDE FRANCHISE THAT'S IN PLACE? YEAH, SO THERE'S A, A FEW CITIES, UM, IT'S MORE COMMON FOR, FOR GARBAGE THAN FOR GARBAGE AND RECYCLING.

WITH BETA BREATH TO GET IT .

THERE'S NOT A, A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF CITIES LIKE THAT, BUT THERE ARE SOME ONE THAT IS, IS CLOSE BY, IS THE CITY OF GEORGETOWN.

SO THEY HAVE, UH, AN EXCLUSIVE FRANCHISE FOR BOTH RESIDENTIAL AND, AND COMMERCIAL, UH, BOTH TRASH AND, AND RECYCLING SERVICES.

ANY OTHER THOUGHTS? QUESTIONS? PRAISE FOR THE PLANNED.

I MEAN, MELISSA.

YES, THANK YOU.

I AM VERY IMPRESSED THAT YOU ATTENDED A CONFERENCE EARLIER TODAY AND STILL MADE IT OUT TO GIVE US A PRESENTATION.

SO I APPLAUD YOU.

UM, THIS HAS BEEN A PRESENTATION THAT I I MYSELF AND I CAN PROBABLY SPEAK FOR OTHER COMMISSIONERS THAT WE'VE BEEN REALLY PUMPED TO SEE THIS PRESENTATION AND, AND GET IT.

SO, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE ALL BEEN REALLY EXCITED TO SEE THIS AND SORT OF WAITING

[00:50:01]

AND I JUST, I, I HAVE JUST A BUNCH OF THOUGHTS AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SOME COMMENTS.

UM, FROM MY IMPRESSION OF IT, I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THESE KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS SINCE 2011 SLIDE, AND I TOTALLY AGREE.

LIKE IT'S, I, I REMEMBER WHEN WE WERE ADVOCATING FOR THE SINGLE FAMILY CURBSIDE COMPOSTING PROGRAM, AND IT WAS, IT WAS TOUGH GETTING IT OUT THERE, BUT IT'S BEEN A MASSIVE SUCCESS.

AND THEN NOW, RIGHT ON THOSE COATTAILS OF A SINGLE FAMILY, WE'VE GOT THE MULTI-FAMILY.

SO REALLY HOPING THAT GETS IMPLEMENTED AND INCREASED OUR ZERO WASTE DIVERSION RATE.

AND I WAS, I WAS REALLY INTERESTED IN THAT.

WE'RE NOW MOVING ON TO THIS CAPTURE RATE AND HOW THAT'S SEEMINGLY A MORE POPULAR METHOD OF MM-HMM.

OF GETTING TO OUR ZERO WASTE GOALS.

AND, AND I GUESS MEASURING THE, THE DATA OUTPUT IS, IS FIGURING OUT BASED ON THE CAPTURE RATE.

SO I'M GONNA BE LOOKING MORE INTO THAT IN THE FUTURE WHENEVER I, UM, STUDY THESE MATERIALS.

AND AS FAR AS PREVIOUS, PREVIOUS PLANS THAT WE HAD IMPLEMENTED THAT ARE NO LONGER HERE, BUT WE HAD MENTIONED THAT PLASTIC BAG BAN THAT WAS NO MORE.

BUT ALSO WE HAD CURBSIDE PICKUP FOR MATERIALS FOR FABRICS AND MATERIALS.

WE HAD A, A PRIVATE COMPANY THAT WAS DOING CURBSIDE PICKUP FOR THAT, WHICH IS NO LONGER.

AND THAT WAS A PRETTY BIG PROGRAM.

UM, CURBSIDE PICKUP PROGRAMS I THINK ARE PRETTY NECESSARY.

WE DON'T REALLY HAVE A STRONGHOLD ON THAT QUITE YET, SO WE'RE STILL RELIANT ON PEOPLE TO NOT THROW AWAY THEIR OLD CLOTHES AND, UM, MATERIALS AND THEY NEED TO DONATE THOSE SINCE WE DON'T HAVE A PROGRAM IN PLACE FOR THEM YET.

MATTRESS RECYCLING IS STILL A PROBLEM.

WE DON'T HAVE A, A COMPANY THAT DOES THAT HERE STILL.

UH, I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT A R R IS TRYING TO GET A COMPANY.

SO, YOU KNOW, WE STILL HAVE, WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF CHALLENGES.

AND LIKE YOU SAID IN YOUR REPORT, IT'S GONNA BE VERY CHALLENGING TO GET 90% FOR SOME OF THESE MATERIALS.

THINGS LIKE STYROFOAM.

HONESTLY, I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE CAN DO WITH STYROFOAM.

IT'S A BIG PROBLEM.

AND IT WILL BE GOOD TO HAVE A NORTH FACULTY DROPOFF CENTER BECAUSE THAT SOUTH LOCATION IS THE ONLY PLACE IN AUSTIN WHERE YOU CAN GO AND RECYCLE STYROFOAM.

THE ONLY PLACE, AND, YOU KNOW, YOU DID HINT ON THE CHALLENGES THAT COVID, YOU KNOW, BROUGHT US, AND IT DIDN'T, IT DIDN'T DO US ANY FAVORS FOR MEETING OUR ZERO WASTE GOALS, THAT'S FOR SURE.

BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, SINGLE USE IS THE NAME OF THE GAME WHEN IT COMES TO COVID.

SO WE, WE ARE WROUGHT WITH LIKE, NEW CHALLENGES AFTER, AFTER THIS, UM, COVID CYCLE.

AND SO SS STYROFOAM IS WELL, WELL USED AND CIRCULATED AND WITH UBER EATS IT'S EVERYWHERE.

AND, YOU KNOW, IT WAS MENTIONED WITH OUR, WITH OUR STATE LEGISLATOR, IT'S DIFFICULT TO GET, UM, CITY IMPLEMENTATION TO BAN MATERIALS.

AND SO WE CAN'T BAN IT.

WE HAVE TO POTENTIALLY INCENTIVIZE COMPOSTABLE TAKEAWAYS, WHICH FOR A LOT OF COMPANIES ARE, ARE QUITE EXPENSIVE.

AND SO IF THEY'RE, IT MAY BE THERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN INCENTIVIZE FOR THE FUTURE.

AND I HAVE MASSIVE DIARY OF THE MOUTH.

THIS IS SO EXCITING FOR ME.

SO, UM, I, I'LL CLOSE, I'LL CLOSE MY, MY COMMENT, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH AND I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY MY PIECE.

AK TAPE.

MELISSA, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THAT WAS WONDERFUL.

UH, COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR THOUGHTS? SCOTT? JASON STAFF WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL PRESENTATION.

IT'S ENCOURAGING AND HOPEFULLY, HOPEFULLY THE, UH, NEXT, UH, TIME WE ARE REVISITING THIS.

WE'VE HIT OR EXCEEDED THESE METRICS THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY ESTABLISHING.

IT'S NOT GONNA BE EASY, AS MELISSA MENTIONED, AND A FEW OTHERS HAVE ALSO, UH, COMMENTED ON HAVING THE OPTION OF A NORTH DROP OFF FACILITY JUST, UH, IN THE, IN THE NAME OF A TRANSFER STATION IS GOING TO MAKE A BIG, BIG DIFFERENCE IN THE FUTURE.

AND I THINK THAT STAFF IS WORKING ON THAT.

THE CITY IS CERTAINLY WORKING ON THAT.

AND, UH, STAY TUNED AS THEY SAY.

AGAIN, GUYS, WONDERFUL PRESENTATION.

SCOTT, THANK YOU FOR FLYING BACK.

RICHARD, THANK YOU FOR FLYING BACK.

AND, UH, THERE, THIS IS A DISCUSSION ACTION ITEM, WHICH I WILL, UH, ENTERTAIN A MOTION MOVE TO APPROVE.

[00:55:01]

I'M I, OH, I'M SORRY, JILL.

I, I AM BEING REMISS.

I'M SO SORRY.

ADAM MCG GREGORY IS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK TO THIS ITEM.

I APOLOGIZE.

THAT'S ALL RIGHT, JERRY, I, YOU'RE OKAY.

UM, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

I'M ADAM GREGORY WITH, UH, TEXAS DISPOSAL SYSTEMS. UM, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK REAL QUICK.

I'LL GO QUICK.

T D S UH, WE'RE INVOLVED IN MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF RECYCLING, COMPOSTING, AND SOLID WASTE.

AND, UM, WE WERE NECK DEEP IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ZERO WASTE STRATEGIC PLAN BACK IN OH 7, 0 8 AND THE PREVIOUS MASTER PLAN, UH, WHICH WAS IN 10 AND 11.

UM, ALSO WANNA SAY, WELCOME TO THE NEW FACES ON WAC AND PARTICULARLY KATHY, WELCOME BACK.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS AND DESIRE TO STAY ON THE COMMISSION.

UM, I JUST WANNA MAKE A QUICK COMMENT ABOUT THE PUBLIC PROCESS AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.

NOW, THERE, THERE'S NO QUESTION THAT IT, IT WASN'T AS MUCH STAKEHOLDER PROCESS AS WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST, AND I, I KNOW THAT COVID HAPPENED AND I KNOW IT'S, IT'S DIFFERENT.

UM, AND IT WAS DIFFERENT IN THIS INSTANCE.

UM, BUT, UM, YOU, YOU ALL KNOW, STAKEHOLDER INPUT IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT FOR, FOR PUBLIC POLICY DEVELOPMENT, UM, HISTORICALLY, UM, FOR YOUR NEW FOLKS AND THOSE THAT ARE ON THE COMMISSION FOR A LONG TIME, YOU KNOW, THIS COMMISSION PARTICULARLY, UM, HAS BEEN VERY IMPORTANT IN ENSURING, UM, THAT THERE'S BEEN A ROBUST PUBLIC PROCESS AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.

UM, WE, WE, WE APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH.

UM, IT'S, IT'S MY HOPE, UH, THAT, THAT YOU'LL CONTINUE TO ENSURE THAT THAT'S THE CASE IN THE FUTURE.

AND THAT AS WE DEVELOP THESE POLICIES FROM THIS PLAN, UM, THAT WE'LL MAYBE GET BACK TO SOME OF THE, THE, THE MORE ROBUST ENGAGEMENT, UM, THAT WE HAD IN THE PAST.

UM, T D S WE'RE A LONG-TERM PARTNER OF THE CITY.

WE'RE A LONG-TERM PARTICIPANT, UH, WITH THIS COMMISSION.

UM, AND, AND I DON'T HAVE ANY, ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE PLAN.

UM, I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT WE'RE FOCUSING MORE ON DISPO PER CAPITA DISPOSAL AND CAPTURE RATE.

'CAUSE I FEEL LIKE I'VE, I'VE EXPLAINED MYSELF NUMEROUS TIMES THAT THAT D DIVERSION RATE'S A PROBLEMATIC METRIC MM-HMM.

UM, BUT I, I THINK IT'S FANTASTIC THAT WE'RE MOVING TOWARDS, TOWARDS, TOWARDS SOME OTHERS.

UM, SO I JUST, UH, WANTED TO MAKE THOSE BRIEF COMMENTS AND SAY WE REMAIN COMMITTED, UH, TO PARTNERING WITH THE CITY AND THE COMMISSION TO ACHIEVE OUR SHARED SUSTAINABILITY GOALS.

AND I ALSO WANT TO EXTEND AN INVITATION, UH, TO ALL, ALL THE COMMISSIONERS, ESPECIALLY THE NEW FOLKS, TO, UM, TO COME VISIT, UH, T D S AND SEE OUR FACILITIES AND, AND, UM, WHAT WE ALL DO TOGETHER HERE.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK.

THANK YOU, ADAM.

I, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE I CAN COMMENT ON BEHALF OF THIS COMMISSION AND BEHALF OF STAFF, WE AGREE PUBLIC INPUT EQUALS SUCCESSFUL PUBLIC POLICY.

AND WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER, WE USUALLY ACCOMPLISH THOSE GOALS.

AND I, AND I, AGAIN, WE'LL GO BACK TO 2010 WHEN WE BEGAN THIS MASTER PLAN PROCESS, ABSOLUTELY VITAL THAT PUBLIC, UH, INPUT PLAYED IN, IN THE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT FIRST MASTER PLAN.

FAST FORWARD 12 YEARS, AND HERE WE ARE AGAIN DOING THIS AND YEP, WE HAD A LITTLE CHALLENGE WITH THAT DARN C O D.

BUT, UH, NONETHELESS, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AND THE NEXT REVISION.

AND AGAIN, THIS FORUM IS OPEN AT ALL TIMES TO PUBLIC INPUT AND PUBLIC COMMENT.

THAT'S HOW WE SUCCEED AND HOW WE WORK TOGETHER.

BUT ANYWAY, THANK YOU ADAM.

THANKS, JERRY.

SO GUYS, ANY OTHER COMMENTS? ANY OTHER SPEAKERS THAT I THANK YOU.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.

ALRIGHT, BACK TO THE, UH, THE ITEM AGAIN.

IT'S A DISCUSSION ACTION ITEM.

AND, UH, I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.

YEAH, I, I MOVE TO ACCEPT, RECOMMEND, APPROVE THE, THE MASTER PLAN.

THANK YOU, AMANDA.

AMANDA MOVES APPROVAL OF THE, OR ACCEPTANCE OF THE, UH, PLAN I SECOND MOTION THIRD .

WE HAVE A TIE HERE, BUT, UH, ANYWAY, TIE GOES TO THE, THE YOUNG LADY HERE, MELISSA, SECONDS THIRD.

CRAIG .

ALRIGHT GUYS, HEARING, UH, WE'RE THE MOTION AT HAND, ANY DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION HEARING? NO DISCUSSION.

[01:00:01]

UNANIMOUS STAFF.

THANK YOU, SCOTT.

THANK YOU, ADAM.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT ANYWAY, GUYS.

WONDERFUL.

ALL RIGHT.

MOVING ALONG

[2. Review and Discussion of Director’s Report (EPA Grant, Bylaws, Solicitations Update, Performance Reports, and Statistical Reports) – Richard McHale]

ON THE AGENDA.

IT IS STRAIGHTFORWARD.

AND RICHARD, I'M GONNA JUMP UP HERE AND TAKE OVER.

LET ME, LET, LET ME, I'M SORRY.

I GOT, I'VE BEEN REMISS.

I WANT TO CONGRATULATE AND WELCOME OUR NEW DIRECTOR, RICHARD MCHALE.

I WAS ABSOLUTELY REMISS.

AND, UH, INTRODUCING RICHARD AND I, AGAIN, I CAN SPEAK FROM A, A HISTORY HERE.

I'M EXCITED.

I MEAN, THEY'RE THE STAFF.

YOU, YOU'VE GOT PROBABLY A GROUP OF PEOPLE HERE THAT ANY COMPANY, ANY DEPARTMENT WOULD ENVY.

AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE GOOD POSITIVE WORK THAT, UH, WILL BE PRODUCED HERE.

YEAH, NO, UH, UH, CHAIR COIA, THANK YOU FOR THE, FOR THE KIND WORDS.

AND I, I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE NO PRESSURE WITH THE COMMISSION AND, AND STAKEHOLDERS AS WE DO MOVE, UH, THROUGH THIS, UH, NEXT FEW YEARS.

AND IMPLEMENTING THE, THE, THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN THAT WE HAVE.

WE HAVE A GREAT STAFF.

THEY'VE DONE A LOT OF GREAT WORK OVER THE YEARS, AND I THINK YOU'RE STARTING TO SEE THE RESULTS OF THAT, THAT, UH, THOSE, THAT HARD WORK.

UM, WHEN WE WERE OUT IN MINNEAPOLIS, UM, JUST SEEING THOSE OTHER HIGH PERFORMING CITIES OUT THERE, AND I, I FELT THAT, UH, THIS, THE WORK THAT OUR STAFF DOES, UH, FIT RIGHT IN WITH THOSE, UH, THOSE FOLKS.

SO, UH, WE'VE GOT A BUNCH OF SUPERSTARS HERE AND I'M, I'M REALLY PROUD TO HUMBLY, UH, SERVE AS DIRECTOR OF THIS DEPARTMENT.

SO THANK YOU, RICHARD.

UH, BUT WITH THAT, I WILL, UH, START OFF WITH THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT.

UM, JASON MENTIONED, UH, TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, UH, THE $4 MILLION GRANT THAT WE RECEIVED.

THIS WAS THE SWIFFER GRANT FROM E P A.

UM, SOMETHING WE'RE REAL EXCITED ABOUT.

UM, THIS KIND OF LED OUT, UH, THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN A NEED.

UH, WE'VE, WE SEE A LOT OF MATERIALS ON THE ROUTE WHEN WE, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE OUR BULKY ROUTES, WE, THAT COULD STILL BE USED, OUR MOVE OUT A T X PROGRAM, HUGELY SUCCESSFUL, BUT REALLY NO PERMANENT HOME FOR THAT MATERIAL.

WE KIND OF JUST DO THAT IN A PARKING LOT TO KIND OF REPURPOSE ALL THAT, UH, OLD FURNITURE AND MATERIALS FROM, FROM THE STUDENTS TO, TO FOLKS THAT NEED THAT MATERIAL.

SO THIS WOULD BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO DO THIS.

UM, OTHER CITIES, UH, SEATTLE HAS A SIMILAR TYPE OF FACILITY.

MINNEAPOLIS, UH, HOUSTON EVEN HAS A SIMILAR FACILITY.

UH, MINNEAPOLIS WAS A CITY THAT ALSO GOT ONE OF THE SWIFFER GRANTS, AND THEY'RE GONNA BE USING THEIRS FOR A CITIZEN DROP OFF AT A TRANSFER STATION, UH, TO EXPAND THEIR SERVICES.

SO REALLY EXCITED TO GET THIS GOING.

UM, BIG PROJECT.

UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING FOR A, UH, WAREHOUSE CURRENTLY THAT'S ALREADY BUILT.

UH, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO JUST BASICALLY MOVE IN WITH MINIMAL AMOUNT OF EFFORT AND GET THIS PROGRAM UP AND RUNNING.

SO, UM, UH, DEFINITELY LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT.

UH, BYLAW REVISIONS.

WE, AT THE LAST, UH, MEETING HERE, WE TALKED ABOUT SOME AMENDMENTS, UH, UPON RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE CLERK OFFICE.

THEY, UH, REQUESTED THAT WE HOLD OFF AND THAT THEY MAKE SOME, UH, A DOCUMENT, A RED LINE OF DOCUMENT WITH SOME CHANGE WITH APPROVED LANGUAGE.

A LOT OF THE LANGUAGE IN THE, THE BYLAWS IS, UH, FROM THE CODE AND KIND OF CUT AND PASTE.

UM, SO, AND TO ENSURE THAT, UH, THESE, UH, CHANGES DO MOVE FORWARD CORRECTLY AND, UM, GET APPROVED, UH, IN A TIMELY MANNER, THEY WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SOME RECOMME RECOMMENDED CHANGES.

UH, WE'LL BRING THAT TO THE COMMISSION TO, TO TAKE A LOOK AT AND TO, UH, SEE IF YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE.

AND AT THAT POINT WE CAN KIND OF CONTINUE THE PROCESS.

UM, SO THAT IS COMING UP AT THE NEXT MEETING.

UM, I THINK, KATHY, I THINK IT WAS YOU THAT HAD ASKED ABOUT CAPTURE RATE WHILE, WHILE SCOTT DIDN'T TAKE A PICTURE AT THE CONFERENCE OF THE SLIDES.

I DID , SO, UH, MINNEAPOLIS, AND I'LL DOUBLE CHECK 'CAUSE I, I CAN'T QUITE SEE THE NAME ON THE SLIDE, BUT I THINK THEY WERE THE FIRST PRESENTER THERE.

CAPTURE RATE FOR FOOD WASTE WAS 36%.

SO WE'RE, WE ARE BEHIND.

UM, BUT OBVIOUSLY IT'S A LOT EASIER TO PUT FOOD OUT IN A COLDER CLIMATE, LESS ISSUES UP THERE.

AND BELIEVE ME, IT WAS COLD.

IT WAS, UH, IT WAS IN THE LOW FORTIES.

UM, BUT, UH, WE CAN ALSO, UM, START GATHERING SOME OF THAT INFORMATION AND KIND OF USE THAT TO BENCHMARK OURSELVES ON CAPTURE RATES.

SO, AND I THINK, UH, MAYBE FOR A FUTURE MEETING, HAVE THAT INFORMATION PRESENTED SO YOU CAN KIND OF SEE WHERE WE ARE IN BENCHMARK.

SEVERAL, A COUPLE YEARS NOW AT LEAST.

MAYBE NOT JUST, UH, PER CAPITA OR NOT JUST, UM, THE, THE CAPTURE RATE, BUT MAYBE WE'LL DO THE PER CAPITA RATE AS WELL.

AND SO WE CAN KIND OF LOOK AT ALL OF THE MEASUREMENTS ACROSS THE OKAY.

THE, THE TABLE THERE.

SO, UM, THERE WAS A MENTION OF, UH, THAT WE DON'T DO, I THINK IT WAS, UH, COMMISSIONER ROTHROCK MAY HAVE MENTIONED THAT WE WEREN'T DOING TEXTILE COLLECTION.

WE DO HAVE A, UH, A VERY ROBUST TEXTILE COLLECTION PROGRAM.

UH, WE'RE PARTNERING WITH GOODWILL ON THAT, AND WE HAVE FOR

[01:05:01]

UH, SO THAT PROGRAM IS IN EXISTENCE, SO APPARENTLY WE NEEDED A LITTLE BETTER JOB OF ADVERTISING IT MM-HMM.

UM, BUT, UH, THAT PROGRAM IS, IS IN PLACE AND IT, IT IS, UH, IS, UH, GETTING MATERIALS.

IN FACT, IF YOU LOOK IN THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT THERE, THERE SHOULD BE, BE THE, UH, I BELIEVE THE TONNAGES ARE ACTUALLY SPECIFICALLY TAKEN OUT FOR TEXTILES.

UH, YEAH, TONS OF CURBSIDE TEXTILES COLLECTED.

SO, UH, THAT PROGRAM IS ONGOING.

AND, UM, UH, THERE WAS ALSO A, A COMMENT SOMEONE HAD MADE ABOUT, UH, I THINK IT WAS MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS COMPOSTABLE SILVERWARE OR PLASTICWARE OR PLASTICWARE IN GENERAL, FROM, FROM, UH, MAYBE LIKE A FAST FOOD PLACE OR A, A DELIVERY SERVICE.

UH, WHILE I WAS IN MINNEAPOLIS, THE RECYCLING COORDINATOR TALKED, THEY HAD DONE A, A AUDIT ON SOME OF THE, UH, MATERIALS THAT THEY HAD.

AND THEY FOUND ABOUT 9% OF THE BETWEEN STRAWS AND, UH, UH, UTENSILS FROM TAKEOUT, UH, AREN'T EVEN OPENED.

THEY JUST GO STRAIGHT FROM THE, THE RESTAURANT, UH, TO THE GARBAGE.

SO, UM, SO WE NEED TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA TRY TO, UH, TO KIND OF ADDRESS YOUR CONCERNS, KATHY.

WE WANNA TRY TO ENGINEER A LOT OF THESE PRODUCTS OUT OF THE SYSTEM.

UM, SO WE'RE NOT HAVING TO TRY TO SCRAMBLE TO TRY, HOW DO WE COLLECT THESE THINGS? HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THESE? SO, UM, AS WE LOOK AT, UH, KINDA MAKING THAT TRANSITION FROM, I KIND OF SEE IT AS THREE LEVELS.

I MEAN, YOU HAVE SOME CITIES THAT REALLY HAVE NO RECYCLING PROGRAMS AT ALL.

THEY'RE JUST STRICTLY GARBAGE TOWNS.

THEY'VE EITHER HAD PROGRAMS AND THEY HAD TO GET RID OF 'EM, OR THEY JUST HAVEN'T HAD THE RESOURCES TO GET DONE.

SO YOU STILL HAVE THOSE KIND OF COMMUNITIES OUT THERE.

YOU HAVE SOME COMMUNITIES THAT ARE JUST KIND OF JUST FOCUSING ON RECYCLING, AND THAT'S KIND OF THEIR END GOAL.

, UH, AT LEAST FOR AT THIS POINT.

UH, AND THEN YOU KIND OF HAVE WHAT I WOULD CALL THOSE TOP TIER COMMUNITIES, WHICH ARE KIND OF LOOKING BEYOND RECYCLING AND, AND REALLY JUST KIND OF GETTING TO THE SOURCE, YOU KNOW, GOING UPSTREAM AND REALLY ADDRESSING ISSUES AT THAT LEVEL TO TRY TO PREVENT ALL THIS MATERIAL FROM, UH, IMPACTING THE CITIES AND AND RATE PAYERS, UH, TO BEGIN WITH.

SO, UH, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE TRANSITIONING TO THAT, AND THAT'S WHERE WE, WE REALLY WANNA START FOCUSING OUR ATTENTION ON IS PREVENTING THESE MATERIALS FROM BEING GENERATED IN THE FIRST PLACE.

AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS WILL BE A TOUGH, UH, STATE TO TRY TO DO ANY TYPE OF BAN.

SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, UH, WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS TRY TO, UH, EDUCATE FOLKS ON THE BENEFITS OF, OF NOT PURCHASING THOSE THINGS.

AND THAT SOMEONE TALKED ABOUT THE, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, GIVEN EXPERIENCE, I THINK IT WAS SCOTT, NOT GIVEN EXPERIENCE AND, YOU KNOW, NOT NECESSARILY AN ITEM.

SO THOSE TYPE OF PROGRAMS AS WE KIND OF KIND OF STRENGTHENING OUR MESSAGING ON THAT AND KIND OF GET FOLKS TO MAKE THAT CHANGE WITHIN THEMSELVES SO WE DON'T HAVE TO RELY ON, UH, ON, YOU KNOW, THE LEGISLATURE TO, TO DO THINGS.

SO MM-HMM.

, UM, WITH THAT, UM, I'LL TAKE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.

THANK YOU, RICHARD.

GREG, UH, A FEW, UH, MI MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS HERE.

UH, I, YOU KNOW, DISCUSSIONS WITH MY NEIGHBORS ABOUT HOW TO PROPERLY DISPOSE OF ALL KINDS OF INTERESTING THINGS.

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH, LIKE, PEOPLE HAVE A BOTTLE OF COOKING OIL THAT THEY'VE FRIED ENOUGH STUFF IN, AND I REMEMBER, I I, WHERE DO WE HAVE SOMEPLACE WHERE THAT WOULD GO? YES, WE SURE DO.

AT OUR, UH, RECYCLING, REUSE, DROP-OFF CENTER, OUR HOUSEHOLD HAZARDS WASTE FACILITY, WE TAKE USED COOKING OIL UHHUH, AND WE, UH, WE COLLECT ALL THAT.

YES, WE SURE DO.

SO, SO AT THIS POINT, YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT DOWN TO THE, TO THE, UH, UNLESS YOU'RE IN ONE OF OUR PILOT AREAS, OUR H H W CURBSIDE PILOT AREAS, UM, I THINK THAT THOSE, THOSE AREAS ARE, ARE ABLE TO GET RID OF IT IN THAT SENSE.

AND ONCE WE EXPAND THAT, WE'LL BE ABLE TO EXPAND THAT, UH, TO THE REST OF THE CITY AS WELL.

AND, AND THEN ONE OTHER QUESTION I HAD, THERE'S SORT OF THIS, UM, IT, IT, IT'S KIND OF LIKE, I DON'T KNOW, IT'S THE, IT MIGHT BE FAKE NEWS, WHO KNOWS, BUT THEY TALK ABOUT THE DIFFICULTY OF RECYCLING FILM PLASTIC.

AND I'VE READ OR HEARD THAT A LOT OF PLACES LIKE YOU DROP IT OFF AND THEY DON'T ACTUALLY RECYCLE IT.

UH, IF WE DROP FILM PLASTIC OFF, I'M ASSUMING THE CITY ACTUALLY RECYCLES IT.

UH, WE DO, WE HAVE A CONTRACT TO HAVE THAT MATERIAL RECYCLED.

AND HOW DO THEY OVERCOME THE FACT THAT IT'S SO LIGHT? IT IS SO BULKY, BUT, SO LIKE, DO YOU COMPACT IT SOMEHOW? WE DO.

OH, I, I'LL HAVE TO CHECK ON THAT.

I'M NOT SURE IF WE DO.

I'LL HAVE TO, I'LL DOUBLE CHECK ON THAT ONE.

I DON'T THINK SO.

'CAUSE I WAS VERY CURIOUS THAT, 'CAUSE THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW.

TELL PEOPLE.

YEAH, IT REALLY RECYCLES.

NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT, I DON'T THINK WE BAILED IT.

'CAUSE I WOULD'VE SEEN A BALE OF PLASTIC BAGS AROUND THERE.

SO, UH, I'LL HAVE TO CHECK WHAT OUR, UH, HOUSEHOLD HAS ITS WASTE.

UH, UH, DIVISION MANAGER OR DIVERGENT SERVICES, UH, DIVISION MANAGER, DONALD HARDY, UM, ON HOW THEY, UH, PACKAGE THAT FOR, UH, TRANSPORTATION.

[01:10:01]

GINA MCKENLEY, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.

WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THOSE ARE MY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU, CRAIG.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FOR RICHARD WITH THAT? SO I HEARD ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN, WHICH I'M NOT SURE.

WHAT ABOUT ? GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

I JUST WAS, UH, REMINDING RICHARD OF OUR, WHAT DO I DO WITH THAT? SO YOU ASKED ABOUT COOKING OIL AND I LOOKED IT UP JUST TO, TO CHECK OUR SYSTEM.

UM, SO THAT IS ANOTHER PLACE, JUST AS A RESOURCE, YOU'RE ALWAYS WELCOME TO ASK US.

UM, BUT IT'S ON THE AUSTIN RE RECYCLES APP THAT YOU CAN DOWNLOAD.

IT'S USED TO SCHEDULE REMINDERS FOR YOUR SERVICE, BUT THERE'S ALSO THAT TOOL.

AND SO YOU CAN TYPE IN THINGS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, HOW TO RECYCLE.

IF THERE'S NO RECYCLING OPTION, IT WILL LET YOU KNOW THAT AS WELL.

UM, BUT IT DOES HAVE SOME INTELLIGENCE BUILT INTO IT SO WE CAN SEE WHAT PEOPLE ARE SEARCHING FOR.

SO IT HELPS, UM, YOU CAN ALSO ACCESS IT THROUGH THE WEB, BUT JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT TOOL.

AND I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED THAT BECAUSE THAT JUST, UH, REMINDED ME OF SOMETHING.

WHEN I WAS IN MINNEAPOLIS, UH, THERE WAS A PRESENTATION FROM THE RECYCLING PARTNERSHIP, AND THEY'RE COMING OUT WITH A REALLY GREAT TOOL, .

UH, IT IS.

SO BASICALLY, UH, THE RECYCLING PARTNERSHIP, UM, THEY'RE HELPING COMMUNITIES TRY TO GENERATE, UH, NOT GENERATE, BUT COLLECT MORE RECYCLING THAT'S OUT THERE.

SO THEY, THEY HAVE GRANTS, THEY PROVIDE CARTS TO SOME COMMUNITIES, UM, EDUCATION MM-HMM.

, UM, THOSE TYPE OF THINGS.

UH, BUT THEY'RE COMING OUT WITH A, UH, A, A, A, UH, ON PACKAGING FOR LIKE PLASTIC BOTTLES OR A, UH, MAYBE A PLASTIC BIN FOR, UM, STRAWBERRIES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

A QR CODE.

AND WHAT YOU'RE ABLE TO DO IS USE YOUR PHONE, TAKE A PICTURE OF THAT QR CODE AND PUT IN YOUR ZIP CODE AND IT WILL TELL YOU IF YOUR PROGRAM AND YOUR COMMUNITY ACCEPTS THAT ITEM.

WOW.

WHICH IS REALLY GREAT.

AND THEY DID A LITTLE TEST RUN ON IT.

IT WAS ACTUALLY A, A STRAWBERRY TYPE CONTAINER.

AND I PUT IN MY ZIP CODE AND IT SAYS, YEAH, AUSTIN TAKES THAT.

AND SO THAT IS REALLY GOOD.

SO I HOPE, I'M REALLY HOPING THAT'S GONNA CUT DOWN ON OUR CONTAMINATION.

'CAUSE THAT'S BEEN A BIG PROBLEM FOR US.

AND, UH, I DON'T SEE IT GETTING ANY BETTER.

SO HOPEFULLY THIS IS, UH, THE, ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS INTO KIND OF CHANGING THE BEHAVIORS THERE.

BUT REALLY GOOD.

'CAUSE AS WE ALL KNOW, IT CAN BE VERY CONFUSING WHETHER, YOU KNOW, FIRST OF ALL WHETHER MATERIALS RECYCLE OR NOT.

THEN ONCE YOU'VE CROSSED THAT, YOU KNOW, DOES MY COMMUNITY ACTUALLY ACCEPT IT? 'CAUSE I MAY COME FROM A COMMUNITY THAT DID BEFORE AND I ASSUME MAYBE THEY ALL DO.

SO NOW I THROW IT IN MINE.

BUT MAYBE IN AUSTIN IT'S, IT'S CONSIDERED CONTAMINATION AND NOT, UH, NOT A PRODUCT THAT WHERE IT'S, IT'S, UH, ON OUR LIST OF MATERIALS THAT WE ACCEPT.

THAT IS A GREAT TOY.

I MEAN A GREAT TOY ACTUALLY.

SO THANK YOU, RICHARD.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? THANK YOU.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, DIRECTOR.

OH, I'M SORRY, MELISSA.

I, I JUST WANTED TO SAY, UM, MY APOLOGIES RICHARD, FOR SPEAKING IGNORANTLY ABOUT THE CURBSIDE TEXTILES THAT A R R IS OFFERING.

I DID LOOK IN YOUR DIRECTOR'S REPORT AND CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, THE PAST FEW YEARS OF, UM, THE TONNAGE THAT WAS DIVERTED THROUGH THIS PROGRAM.

SO I WILL DEFINITELY EDUCATE MYSELF ON Y'ALL'S WEBSITE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM.

AND I AM, I AM REALLY EXCITED FOR Y'ALL ABOUT THIS $4 MILLION GRANT THAT WAS AWARDED, UM, FOR THIS REUSE WAREHOUSE FOR FURNITURE.

AND, YOU KNOW, READING ABOUT IT, IT SOUNDS AWFULLY FAMILIAR TO THE HABITAT RESTORE, WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY ALSO HAVE FURNITURE THERE AND, UM, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS.

IS, IS THIS GRANT GOING TO ALSO FURTHER EXPAND EXISTING TYPE NONPROFIT? OR IS, IS THIS GONNA BE A, LIKE A FULL BRAND NEW ENTITY THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS GONNA OPERATE AND MAINTAIN? SO THIS WILL BE A NEW FACILITY FOR THE DEPARTMENT.

UH, BUT I THINK WE, OUR GOAL IS TO PARTNER WITH OTHER AGENCIES TO HELP, UH, HELP EITHER IN THE OPERATION OR IN EITHER WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, MAYBE PERHAPS GETTING FOLKS IN THERE TO LEARN A SKILL TO MAYBE REPAIR FURNITURE OR SOMETHING SIMILAR LIKE THAT.

SO WE STILL HAVE A COMMUNITY COMPONENT TO IT.

UM, SO YEAH, WE'RE REAL EXCITED ABOUT THIS.

UM, WE THINK THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO DO THIS.

AND I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT COULD ALSO EVOLVE LATER ON.

UM, AND IT MAY NOT NOT JUST BE FURNITURE, BUT MAYBE WE START, UH, ACCEPTING, UH, MATERIAL FROM DECONSTRUCTION AND ALMOST SIMILAR TO HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, LIKE YOU, UH, LIKE YOU MENTIONED THERE.

'CAUSE THERE IS DEFINITELY THAT NEED OUT THERE.

UM, I GO TO HABITAT FOR HUMANITY QUITE OFTEN TO GET MATERIALS.

I'VE BEEN WORKING, BUILDING A HOUSE, SO, UH, I TEND TO GO THERE AND SHOP AROUND.

AND I GOT, I THINK, FOUR DIFFERENT STYLES OF WINDOWS ON THE HOUSE.

BUT IT'S OKAY BECAUSE, UH, IT'S, UH, IT'S MY HOUSE AND IT'S IN THE WOODS.

SO .

GREAT.

THANK YOU RICHARD.

[01:15:02]

ALRIGHT GUYS, MOVING ALONG.

THE NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS, UH, LET'S SEE A DISCUSSION ACTION ITEM

[4. Action to approve new member to the Universal Recycling Ordinance Committee – Gerry Acuna ]

ON APPOINTING A NEW U R O COMMITTEE MEMBER.

YES, I WOULD LIKE THAT.

I AM GOING TO LET YOU VOLUNTEER.

YES, I VOLUNTEER MS. TUSA VOLUNTEERS TO JUMP BACK ON THE U R O COMMITTEE.

AND DO YOU HAVE A CHAIR? UH, LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE THE CHAIR.

OH, IT'S A, WELL, VERY GOOD.

I WANNA BE, IT'S A ONE MAN SHOW BY THE WAY.

YEAH, NO, NO, NO, NO.

JUST TEASING.

BUT ANYWAY, WHO ELSE IS ON IT NOW? UH, YOU KNOW, GOOD QUESTION.

THAT IS, YEAH, CABLE.

WELL, I THINK MADELINE WANTED TO BE ON IT.

IS SHE STILL HERE? MADELINE? YEAH, I'M DEFINITELY INTERESTED.

OH, GOOD.

YOU SHOULDN'T SAY THAT.

MADELINE .

MADELINE.

YES.

YOU ARE ALSO NOW A PROUD MEMBER OF THE UNIVERSAL RECYCLING ORDINANCE.

CONGRATULATIONS.

ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.

IS THAT OKAY? SO WE'VE GOT TWO, TWO NEW MEMBERS.

AND AGAIN, TO MAKE IT OFFICIAL, CAN WE VOTE ON THIS? ALRIGHT, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPOINTING AMANDA AND MADELINE AS THE NEW U R O.

AND I THINK YOU SAID AMANDA.

OH, NO, I'M SORRY.

GO AHEAD.

NO, MADELINE, MADELINE, AND, AND KATHY TO THE U R O, PLEASE, UH, RAISE YOUR HAND.

SAY, AYE.

DO I DO IT TOO? ? YES, GO, GO.

YOU'VE GOT TO, WE GOT TO, IT'S NOT OFFICIAL.

SO ANYWAY, IT'S UNANIMOUS.

WE HAVE TWO NEW MEMBERS TO THE UNIVERSITY RECYCLING ORDINANCES.

MADELINE WAYNE, WELCOME.

AND KATHY, WELCOME BACK.

UH, THE LAST ITEM OF BUSINESS IS A JOINT SUSTAINABILITY

[5. Action to approve alternate representative to the Joint Sustainability Committee– Gerry Acuna]

COMMITTEE MEMBER.

WE'RE LOOKING, CRAIG, THAT HAS YOUR NAME ALL OVER IT.

WHAT? THE JOINT, WHAT, WHAT, WHO WAS IT? JOINT THAT WAS KI I'M SORRY, WHAT? DID YOU SAY JOHN WAS IN THAT COMMITTEE? NO, HE'S ACTUALLY ON THE UR I MEAN THE, UH, C AND D.

THE D, C AND D.

SO WHO'S, WHO'S THE REPRESENTATIVE? THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION THAT I'D LIKE TO SAY.

SO, I, I CURRENTLY SERVE ON THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION.

SO, UM, THE PERSON THAT WILL BE MY BACKUP AS AN AL AN ALTERNATIVE, UM, PERSON IF I CAN'T BE, UM, PRESENT FOR THE MEETING.

SO YOU'RE THE REPRESENTATIVE.

, DO YOU WANNA BE A BACKUP? YEAH, I, OKAY.

WELL, YES, I COULD DO THAT.

MELISSA, WE HAVE FOUND YOU A BACKUP.

SCREAM, HOLLER, WHATEVER.

THANK YOU, CRAIG.

I'LL, LET'S TAKE AN OFFICIAL VOTE ON THAT.

PRETTY PLEASE.

WE, UH, SELECT CRAIG, OR WOULD LIKE TO SELECT CRAIG AS A BACKUP TO MELISSA ROTHROCK ON THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COUNCIL.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND.

AGENDA ITEMS. AND THERE WERE A COUPLE OF ITEMS ON THERE THAT WE HAD, UH MM-HMM.

UNANIMOUS.

AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I THINK WE'RE DOWN TO FUTURE

[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]

TALKED ABOUT.

DID YOU WANNA ADD TO, UM, NO, I CAN'T REMEMBER.

I'D LIKE TO HOPEFULLY DISCUSS THE, UH, C AND D RECYCLING OPTIONS.

I THINK, CRAIG, YOU WANTED TO, TO INCLUDE A DECONSTRUCTION FOR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES WHEN THAT CORRECT.

THAT WAS IT.

AND I, HOPEFULLY WE CAN PUT THAT ON THERE AND GET SOME BACKUP AND GET SOME, UH, STAFF INPUT ON THAT.

BUT, UH, AND I THINK THE OTHER ITEM, UH, RICHARD, WERE YOU GONNA BE ABLE TO GET BACK SOME COMMENTS FROM, UH, THE, FROM, UH, OH MY GOD.

UH, CLERK COMMENTS, CLERK'S, OFFICE COMMENTS ON THE AGENDA? CLERK? YES.

ON HER? UH, YEAH, WE'LL HAVE THOSE BYLAWS.

SO THAT BE FOR THE, THE CITY, THE BYLAWS.

AND, UH, WAS, WAS THERE SOMETHING ELSE YOU AND I DISCUSSED TODAY? IT WAS FROM AVA.

OH, WELL I THINK THAT WAS, IS THAT WHAT YOU ALREADY SAID? SAID THAT WAS, YEAH, THE C AND D.

THE C AND D UH, UH, RECYCLING AND HOW TO INCLUDE, OH, AND, AND I MIGHT WANNA GET OFF THAT AND MAYBE WE CAN GET CRACKED TO BEYOND THAT.

WELL, THAT'S NOT A GOOD, THAT'S, THAT'S PROBABLY A GOOD IDEA ACTUALLY.