Feb 11, 2026 Zero Waste Advisory Commission

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONERS.

ALI MOVES APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.

DO I HEAR A SECOND ON THAT? I SECOND.

OH, JOHN, IS THAT JOHN? JAN, OR JOHN? I'M SORRY.

JOHN.

THANK YOU, JOHN.

I SEE TWO FACES THERE.

JOHN MOVES A SECOND.

AND LET'S SEE.

ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? HEARING? NO DISCUSSION.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND.

ALL RIGHT.

IT'S UNANIMOUS.

THE NEXT ITEM

[2. Approve a recommendation to Council to authorize negotiation and execution of contracts for consulting services for Austin Resource Recovery with Baer Engineering & Environmental Consulting, Inc., Intera Inc., TRC Environmental Corporation d/b/a Trc, and Zara Environmental, LLC., for a term of five years in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000. Funding: $150,000 is available through the Operating Budget, and $50,000 is available through the Capital Budget of Austin Resource Recovery. Funding for the remaining contract term is contingent upon available funding in future budgets.]

IS, UH, I GUESS THE ACTION ITEMS. AND THE NEXT ACTION ITEM IS BASICALLY A, UH, A RR, UH, WHAT IS IT? UH, CONSULTING AGREEMENT WITH TRC AND BEAR ENGINEERING TO REVIEW THE, UH, ACTUAL, UH, WHAT IS IT? THE, UH, OH, UH, BROWNFIELD, UH, PROJECTS AND, UH, REMEDIATION OF BROWNFIELD SITES HERE IN, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY.

AND HOPEFULLY, UH, COMMISSIONERS.

YOU HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK OVER THE ACTUAL, UH, RCA.

YOU'RE HERE FOR QUESTIONS, CORRECT? AND I'M SORRY YOU'RE INTRODUCED.

YES, SIR.

MY NAME IS ROSALYN KEER.

I'M THE BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM MANAGER WITH A RR, AND I'M AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE ABOUT THIS, UH, CONTRACT.

THANK YOU, ROSALYN.

COMMISSIONERS.

ANY QUESTIONS ON THE CONTRACT? SO, JUST UNDERSTAND IT'S A SITUATION.

THIS IS JOHN, UH, WHERE WE'RE BASICALLY HIRING THESE COMPANIES TO, UH, EVALUATE THE BROWNFIELD.

CAN YOU UNDERSTAND OR THE YEP.

HEY, JOHN.

JOHN, CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE LOUDER, PRETTY PLEASE? SURE.

THIS IS JOHN.

UH, I WANNA KNOW, SO WE'RE BASICALLY HIRING THIS FIRM TO EVALUATE THE PROPERTIES FOR THE EPA REMEDIATION GRANT.

DID YOU UNDERSTAND? YES, SIR.

UM, WE RECEIVED A GRANT FROM THE EPA TO GO OUT AND PERFORM ENVIRONMENTAL SITE ASSESSMENTS TO ASSIST WITH REDEVELOPMENTS OF PROPERTIES TO DETERMINE IF THERE IS ANY POTENTIAL FOR CONTAMINATION.

THIS IS PART OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL DUE DILIGENCE THAT IS COMMONLY PERFORMED BEFORE AS PART OF ANY COMMERCIAL PROPERTY TRANSACTION.

UM, AND THIS CONTRACT IS IN SUPPORT, UM, OF THAT GRANT AND PERFORMING THOSE SERVICES.

AND SO, UM, THAT, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE GENERAL, UM, THE GOAL OF THE, OF THIS CONTRACT IS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE CONSULTANTS THAT WILL GO OUT AND PERFORM THOSE ENVIRONMENTAL SITE ASSESSMENTS TO FULFILL THE GOALS OF THE FEDERAL GRANT.

PERFECT.

JOHN.

HAVE WE ACTUALLY RECEIVED THE FUNDING? YES, SIR.

WE RECEIVED IT ON OCTOBER 1ST.

WONDERFUL.

SO THAT'S IN THE BANK.

IRA SET? I MOVE TO APPROVE IRIS MOVES APPROVAL.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS HERE? WE KNOW OTHER QUESTIONS? I WILL, UH, ENTERTAIN A MOTION.

MR. IS

[00:05:01]

DO I HEAR A SECOND ON THIS? THIS IS JOHN.

I SECOND JOHN SECONDS THIS, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NO FURTHER DISCUSSION.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND PLEASE.

LOOKS UNANIMOUS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU GUYS.

[3. Approve a recommendation to Council to authorize a contract for Central Business District Collection Services for Austin Resource Recovery (ARR) with Texas Disposal Systems, Inc d/b/a Texas Disposal Systems, for an initial term of 3 years with up to two 1-year extension options in an amount not to exceed $20,000,000. Funding: $2,333,333 is available in the Operating Budget of Austin Resource Recovery. Funding for the remaining contract term is contingent upon available funding in future budgets.]

OH, THE NEXT ITEM IS THE, UH, DOWNTOWN, UH, BUSINESS DISTRICT COLLECTION AND RECYCLING CONTRACT.

AND I THINK THE, UH, RCA IS IS TO APPROVE A, APPROVE A, UH, CONTRACT WITH TEXAS DISPOSAL SYSTEMS FOR A, I THINK IT'S A TOTAL, UH, OUTPUT OF FIVE YEARS.

AND THE, UH, COST ON THAT IS BASICALLY, UH, $20 MILLION OVER THE COURSE OF THAT FIVE YEAR PERIOD.

IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.

GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

AMY SLATE, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

UH, WE'RE HERE TONIGHT SEEKING A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION FOR THIS NEW CONTRACT.

UH, UH, THIS, THE CURRENT CONTRACT, UH, IS, UH, IS ALSO WITH TEXAS DISPOSAL SYSTEM.

UH, THIS NEW, UH, UH, CBD CONTRACT WILL BRING OUR, UH, DOWNTOWN AREA, UH, INTO, UH, COMPLIANCE WITH ERO.

WE'LL BE ADDING COMPOST CONTAINERS HERE IN THE NEXT, UH, UH, FEW WEEKS OR SO.

UH, WE'VE ALSO, UH, OUTLINED, UH, UH, SOME IMPROVEMENTS TO REDUCE, UH, SCAVENGING THROUGH THE DUMPSTERS AND LEGAL DUMPING BY ADDING LOCKS.

UH, WE'LL ALSO, UH, BRINGING OUR DUMPSTER, UH, CONTAINER COLORS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE URO AS WELL.

SO, UH, IT'S A FIVE YEAR TERM, UH, $20 MILLION, UH, OVER THE COURSE OF THE ENTIRE FIVE YEARS.

UH, AND, UH, AND THE, WE'RE AGAIN, WE'RE SEEKING A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION FOR THIS, UH, NEW CONTRACT.

AMY, ANY QUESTIONS FOR AMY? YEAH, THIS IS SETH FROM DISTRICT THREE I, UM, WHERE, WHERE WILL THE COMPOST, HOW WILL THE COMPOST BE COLLECTED? SO THE COMPOST WILL BE, UH, COLLECTED, UH, IN THE SAME MANNER THAT THE TRASH AND RECYCLING CURRENTLY ARE.

SO, UH, THEY'LL BRING IN A SPECIFIC VEHICLE FOR THAT.

SO WE'LL HAVE, UH, DEDICATED CONTAINERS JUST FOR THE COMPOST, UH, MATERIAL.

IT'S IN THE ALLEYWAYS IN THE ALLEYS? YES.

CORRECT.

SO THIS IS, THIS IS JUST BUSINESS DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES? THAT'S CORRECT, YES.

UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.

IT'S FOR OUR DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES.

SO, UH, A RR MAINTAINS A, UH, CONTRACTED DUMPSTER DISTRICT, UH, THROUGH PORTIONS OF DOWNTOWN.

SO, AND THIS IS JUST FOR THOSE CUSTOMERS.

GOTCHA.

AND AMY, JUST QUICK CLARIFICATION, WHAT WAS THE INCREASE IN THIS CONTRACT VERSUS THE PREVIOUS? UH, I BELIEVE IT WAS, UH, IT WAS, THE LAST CONTRACT AMOUNT WAS ABOUT, UH, WAS 8.3 IS WHAT IS LISTED HERE.

UH, SO THIS TERM IS UP TO 20 MILLION.

SO WE DID HAVE IT A BIT, UH, MAJOR INCREASE, UH, UH MM-HMM .

WE DID HAVE AN INCREASE FOR COST IN TERMS OF, UH, PROVIDING SERVICE, BUT ALSO WITH THE ADDITION OF, UH, THE REQUIREMENTS WE ADDED FOR LOCKING DUMPSTERS.

SO THERE HAS BEEN A INCREASE IN ACTUAL SERVICE REQUEST OF THE PROVIDER? CORRECT.

AS WELL AS ADDITION OF COMPOST.

SO THERE WERE SOME, UH, NEW SPECIFICATIONS WITH THIS CONTRACT.

NOW, THE ORIGINAL CONTRACT ALSO HAD COMPOST OR DID NOT? UH, I, I DON'T RECALL OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, SO.

COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH, I MEAN, I, IF I MAY YEAH, PLEASE, PLEASE GO.

YEAH, I MEAN, I HAD THIS AS USUAL, I HAD THAT SAME QUESTION KIND OF HOW MUCH OF A BUMP ARE WE TALKING ABOUT HERE? IT'S, UM, SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE MORE THAN DOUBLING MM-HMM .

AT LEAST THE POTENTIAL MAXIMUM AMOUNT.

DO WE EXPECT TO SPEND THE 20 MILLION, UM, THAT, OR IS, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH OF AN INCREASE IN TERMS OF SERVICE ARE WE GETTING FOR THIS? UH, TWO AND A HALF TIMES AS MUCH COST.

SO IT'S STILL FOR THE SAME LEVEL OF SERVICE FOR RECYCLING AND TRASH.

WHICH SAID, TRASH IS COLLECTED SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

RECYCLING, I BELIEVE, IS COLLECTED FOUR TO FIVE TIMES A WEEK.

A COMPOST IS, UH, TWO TO THREE TIMES PER WEEK.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 150% INCREASES ON THE LAST TWO OR THREE DIFFERENT, UM, REQUESTS THAT ARE COMING TO US.

UH, BUT AGAIN, THERE WERE COST INCREASE, UH, JUST FOR SERVICE OVERALL.

AND THEN WE DID HAVE THE ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS TO ADD THE LOCKING DUMPSTERS AND THEN BRING THE, UH, ADD, UH, DIFFERENT COLORED CONTAINERS TO MATCH THE URO.

SO THAT WAS, IT DID INCREASE OUR CONTRACT OVERALL.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONERS BEYOND GO.

I'M SORRY.

YEAH, I MEAN, IT'S JUST, I FEEL LIKE, I FEEL LIKE WE'RE SEEING OUR COSTS GO UP BY THESE JUST ASTRONOMICAL AMOUNTS.

UM, YOU KNOW, OUR, THE FOLKS IN AUSTIN ARE CONCERNED ABOUT OUR FOOD PRICES GOING UP, YOU KNOW, 30, 40%, BUT

[00:10:01]

AND I'M JUST TRYING TO GET MY HEAD AROUND WHY WE'RE SEEING SUCH JUST ENORMOUS CHANGES WHEN, YOU KNOW, THE, THE AMOUNT OF LEVEL OF SERVICENESS HASN'T NECESSARILY CHANGED AND THE POPULATION HASN'T CHANGED THAT MUCH.

SO I'M JUST WONDERING, ARE WE, IS THIS WHAT WE'RE STARTING TO EXPECT, OR ARE, ARE YOU SHARING THIS CONCERN, UM, OR DO YOU FEEL LIKE THIS IS APPROPRIATE FOR US TO SEE THIS? WE, WE DO SHARE THE CONCERN AND, AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS COMPETITIVE, COMPETITIVELY SOLICITED, AND, UH, I CAN SAY THAT THE, THE OTHER VENDOR WAS EX VERY CLOSE TO WHAT THE, UH, CURRENT VENDOR, UH, OFFERED.

SO IT'LL COME BACK TO, UH, SOMETHING I FORGOT TO ANSWER IN YOUR FIRST QUESTION.

BUT WE DON'T EXPECT TO SPEND THE FULL PORTION THAT IS, YOU KNOW, JUST WHAT WE PROJECT TO SPEND OVER THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT, UH, UP TO THAT FIVE YEARS.

BUT IN THAT ALSO INCLUDES, UH, IT ALLOWS FOR INCREASES FOR CPI, WHICH IS CAN BE DONE EVERY YEAR AT THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE CONTRACT.

SO, UH, WE DON'T ANTICIPATE SPENDING THE WHOLE, THE AMOUNT, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE'RE SEEING WITH, WITH OUR SOLICITATIONS ARE THESE INCREASES.

AMY.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONERS? CAN I JUST ASK ONE MORE THING ABOUT COMPOSTING? AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS, I KNOW THIS IS MORE ABOUT THE CONTRACT, BUT, UM, DO, ARE, IS THERE BUY-IN FOR COMPOSTING AT THESE BUSINESSES? OR LIKE, HOW, HOW, WHAT WERE THEY DOING BEFORE? DO WE KNOW? UH, WELL, THEY WEREN'T COMPOSTING AND THERE IS BUY-IN.

AND WE'RE ACTIVELY WORKING ON, UH, EDUCATION TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT TO THOSE BUSINESSES.

SO THEY, THEY'RE, THEY'RE READY TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING AND, BUT THEY ARE ANTICIPATING THIS, UH, NEW SERVICE DELIVERY HERE IN THE NEXT FEW, FEW, FEW WEEKS.

DO YOU THINK THAT IT WILL CAUSE THERE TO BE LESS TRASH OR, I MEAN, I WOULD ASSUME THAT IF SOME OF IT IS GETTING REROUTED FROM THE TRASH TO THE COMPOST, THAT THERE IS THEN LESS TRASH.

UM, DOES THAT AFFECT ANYTHING AS FAR AS TRASH COLLECTION? UH, IT WOULD REDUCE THE NUMBER OF DUMPSTERS THAT WE NEED IN THE ALLEY FOR TRASH.

BUT YES, WE ANTICIPATE LESS TRASH BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE DIVERTING, UH, FOOD WASTE INTO THE COMPOST.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONERS.

YEAH, THANK YOU.

AND THE PROCESSING DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

I MEAN, COMPOSTING VERSUS LANDFILLING VERSUS SINGLE STREAM RECYCLING, THE COST VARIANCES ARE, ARE CONSIDERABLE.

SO I, I CAN'T SHARE THAT WITH YOU.

AND, AND AGAIN, I GUESS, UH, WHAT WE SHOULD SEE IS, UH, I MEAN, THIS IS AN ORDINANCE, BASICALLY, THEY ARE ASKED TO PROVIDE, UH, ORGANIC RECYCLING DOWN THERE.

SO IT'S BASICALLY JUST MEETING THE ORDINANCES REQUIREMENTS IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE.

BUT, UH, YEAH, AMY, THANK YOU.

I MEAN, YEAH, THE CONTRACT AMOUNTS ARE CONSIDERABLY HIGHER THAN, THAN, THAN WHAT I HAD EXPECTED.

AND IF YOU'RE TELLING ME THIS WAS A LOW BID, YES.

THAT'S, THAT'S, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S ENCOURAGING OR NOT, BUT STILL , IT'S, IT'S CHALLENGING.

AND THAT TELLS YOU THAT THE MARKET WILL BEAR.

I MEAN, THAT'S BASICALLY WHERE WE'RE AT TODAY, UNLESS THE CITY WANTS TO GET INTO THE DOWNTOWN COLLECTION OF, OF, UH, COMPOSTING SINGLE STREAM AND GARBAGE, BY THE WAY.

BUT, UH, ANYWAY, I'M JUST BABBLING UP HERE, GUYS.

UH, COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I'VE, I'VE GOT ONE QUESTION.

KAY.

THIS IS KATE KAITLYN GRIFFITH.

UM, SO I KNOW THAT PART OF THIS, UH, BILL IS ALSO JUST COVERING LOCKS AND, UM, COLORS, LIKE CHANGING THE COLORS OF THE BINS.

HOW MUCH, UM, OF THE BILL IS JUST ADDING THE COMPOST SERVICE AND THE COMPOST BINS THEMSELVES.

I'LL HAVE TO CIRCLE BACK TO YOU WITH THAT SPECIFIC AMOUNT, BUT THERE, I JUST TRYING TO, THEY, THEY DO, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT A ALL IN ONE, UH, YOU KNOW, COST.

IT IS INDIVIDUALLY BID FOR RECYCLING, TRASH AND, UH, AND COMPOST.

BUT WE CAN CIRCLE BACK WITH THAT INFORMATION.

SURE.

UM, BUT YEAH, I USED TO WORK IN RESTAURANTS DOWNTOWN, AND IT WAS REALLY SAD TO SEE ALL OF THAT PERFECTLY GREAT COMPOST GOING IN THE TRASH.

SO THANK YOU GUYS FOR DOING THIS.

YEAH.

WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE THAT PROGRAM ONLINE DOWNTOWN.

SO WHEN WE START POLICING THE RESTAURANTS THAT AREN'T PROVIDING THE SERVICES, AND WE START COLLECTING FINES THAT WE'RE GONNA OFFSET THAT COST OF, UH, PROVIDING THE DOWNTOWN COLLECTION.

AND JUST KIDDING, BY THE WAY.

SO NONETHELESS, UH, ALWAYS .

THANK YOU, JERRY.

YEAH, THANKS.

HAVING SAID THAT, COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE ITEM? HEARING NO QUESTIONS? I WILL EX I WILL, UH, ACCEPT A MOTION ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.

I MOVE TO APPROVE.

YEAH.

I MOVE'S APPROVAL.

DO I HEAR SECOND? CAN SECOND THE APPROVAL, SETH.

SECONDS.

ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THE ITEM HEARING? NO FURTHER DISCUSSION.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND.

[00:15:04]

LOOKS UNANIMOUS.

THANK YOU, AMY.

[4. Staff briefing regarding Public Information and Marketing. Presentation by Paul Bestgen, Marketing Supervisor for the Public Information Office at Austin Resource Recovery.]

ALL RIGHT, GUYS, NEXT ITEM IS, UH, STAFF BRIEFINGS.

AND I GUESS THE NEXT BRIEFING IS ACTUALLY, UH, A BRIEFING ON THE, UH, PUBLIC INFORMATION AND MARKETING PRESENTATION.

AND THAT, UH, I GUESS, PAUL, YOU'RE GOING TO ENLIGHTEN US HERE ON WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING AND WHAT THE CHALLENGES ARE.

MY NAME IS PAUL ESTON.

I'M A MARKETING SUPERVISOR ON OUR MEDIA RELATIONS AND MARKETING TEAM.

AND I'M HERE TO SHARE INFORMATION ON OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION AND MARKETING DIVISION.

THANK YOU, PAUL.

SO OUR DIVISION IS MADE UP OF 14 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES, OVER THREE SEPARATE WORK GROUPS, INCLUDING THE MEDIA RELATIONS AND MARKETING TEAM THAT I LEAD.

OUR DIGITAL AND CREATIVE SERVICES TEAM, OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM, OUR MEDIA RELATIONS AND MARKETING TEAM.

WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING AND RELEASING ALL OF OUR PRESS RELEASES AND MEDIA ADVISORIES, HANDLING ANY MEDIA INTERVIEW REQUESTS THAT WE RECEIVE, AS WELL AS ANY MEDIA RE REQUESTS THAT WE GET.

WE ALSO DRAFT A LOT OF CUSTOMER MESSAGING FOR ALL OF OUR SERVICES AND PROGRAMS. WE LEAD OVER 25 MARKETING CAMPAIGNS AND PROJECTS FOR THE DEPARTMENT.

AND THOSE, MANY OF THOSE DO INCLUDE PAID ADVERTISING AS WELL.

WE'RE ALSO A PART OF SEVERAL SPECIAL PROJECTS FOR THE, THE DEPARTMENT.

THIS WOULD INCLUDE, UM, ANY NEW SERVICES THAT WE ARE LAUNCHING OR REIMAGINING, OR ANY PROJECTS THAT THE DEPARTMENT IS WORKING ON TO IMPROVE SERVICES.

WE USUALLY PLAY A ROLE IN TO PROVIDE OUR FEEDBACK AND EXPERTISE REGARDING COMMUNICATIONS AND WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY.

AND THEN WE, AS YOU KNOW, AUSTIN IS A LEADER IN THE ZERO WASTE INDUSTRY.

SO WE ACTUALLY GET A LOT OF REQUESTS FROM OTHER COMMUNITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY FOR INFORMATION ABOUT HOW WE OPERATE FROM OUR COLLECTIONS PROGRAMS TO OUR COMMUNICATIONS.

AND SO OUR TEAM ALSO HELPS COORDINATE RESPONSES TO DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES, WHICH CAN BE VERY TIME CONSUMING.

SOME OF THE PRESS RELEASES THAT WE PUT OUT IN 2025 INCLUDED HOLIDAY TREE RECYCLING, OUR ANNUAL CIRCULAR SHOWCASE EVENT, AND MOVE OUT A TX EVENT.

AND THEN BACK IN JUNE, WE ANNOUNCED THAT CARTONS AND COATED PAPER PRODUCTS WERE NOW RECYCLABLE IN AUSTIN.

AS I MENTIONED, WE CREATE CAMPAIGN, UH, MARKETING PLANS FOR OVER 25 DIFFERENT CAMPAIGNS OR PROJECTS.

SOME OF THOSE INCLUDE OUR RECYCLING CONTAMINATION CAMPAIGN, WHICH WE DO EVERY SINGLE YEAR.

WE DO RECYCLING EDUCATION THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, BUT OUR RECYCLING CONTAMINATION CAMPAIGN IS OVER A COUPLE OF MONTHS FOR THIS YEAR.

WE HAVE DONE BATTERY AND ELECTRONICS RECYCLING ADS IN JANUARY, AND THOSE WILL CONTINUE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.

WE'LL BE LAUNCHING STYROFOAM AND PLASTIC BAG RECYCLING ADS IN MARCH.

AND THEN, AS I MENTIONED, WE DO GENERAL RECYCLING MESSAGE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

WE JUST LAUNCHED A COMPOSTING PARTICIPATION CAMPAIGN IN FEBRUARY, AND THIS CAMPAIGN ENCOURAGES OUR CUSTOMERS TO COMPOST MORE, REMINDING THEM THAT THEY CAN COMPOST MEAT, DAIRY, SEAFOOD BONES, UM, AND THE MESSAGE OF IF IT GROWS, IT GOES IN YOUR GREEN CART.

AND THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF OUR ADS, BUT IT IS NOT WORKING, SO WE'LL SKIP IT.

OF OUR CUSTOMERS IN APRIL, REMINDING THEM THAT THESE SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM.

BUT IT ACTUALLY TELLS YOU TO KEEP BATTERIES AND ELECTRONICS OUT OF YOUR BLUE CART AND TO RECYCLE THEM.

RIGHT.

AND THEN WE SEND THEM TO OUR WEBSITE WHERE THEY CAN FIND ALL THE DIFFERENT OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO THEM, WHETHER THAT IS OUR, OUR HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION, OUR RECYCLE AND REUSE DROP OFF CENTER, THEY CAN DROP OFF BATTERIES AT THE LIBRARIES.

SO A VARIETY OF OPTIONS FOR BATTERIES, ELECTRONICS, PLASTIC BAGS, AND STYROFOAM.

MULTI-FAMILY COMPOSTING IS NOW, UM, AVAILABLE IN AUSTIN FOR MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTS.

WE HAVE BEEN SHARING THIS MESSAGE WITH PROPERTY OWNERS FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, AND NOW WE'VE STARTED TO PIVOT TO EDUCATE OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT THE SERVICE IS NOW AVAILABLE.

THIS IS PROVIDED BY MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTIES, NOT BY AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO DO EDUCATION SO THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS KNOW THAT THIS SERVICE SHOULD BE AVAILABLE TO THEM.

WE LAUNCHED A PAID CAMPAIGN IN JANUARY, WE'LL RUN THROUGH FEBRUARY.

WE HAVE POSTERS IN GROCERY STORES, NEAR APARTMENTS AND CONDOS THAT HAVE ALREADY ADDED THE SERVICE.

AND WE ALSO HAVE DIGITAL ADS THAT ARE ALSO, UM, BEING DIRECTED TO THE RESIDENTS THAT HAVE COMPOSTING IN THOSE PROPERTIES.

WE CONTINUE, CONTINUE TO DO ONGOING BULK BRUSH AND HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION MESSAGING TO ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS, JUST REMINDING THEM THAT BULK AND BRUSH ARE NOW ON DEMAND SERVICES.

AND THEN TO INTRODUCE THEM TO HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION, WHICH IS A NEW SERVICE FOR MOST OF OUR CUSTOMERS.

WE WILL BE SENDING OUT ANOTHER MAILER TO ALL

[00:20:01]

AND THEN WE WILL DO A PAID ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN FOR HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION.

THIS SUMMER, WE JUST WRAPPED UP HOLIDAY TREE RECYCLING, WHICH IS A POPULAR ANNUAL EVENT THAT WE DO WITH AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION.

WE, OUR CUSTOMERS CAN RECYCLE THEIR HOLIDAY TREES CURBSIDE, UH, BUT WE ALSO PROVIDE EVENTS, ATSER PARK, UH, WHERE THEY CAN, WHERE THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS CAN COME AND DROP OFF THEIR, THEIR TREES FOR RECYCLING.

WE ALSO WORK ON INTERNAL MARKETING PROJECTS.

WE PROVIDE EDUCATION TO ALL CITY EMPLOYEES THROUGH OUR ZERO WASTE AT CITY FACILITIES PROGRAM.

THIS INCLUDES CREATING AN EMPLOYEE TRAINING VIDEO, WHICH IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING FINALIZED, WHICH WILL THEN BE REQUIRED FOR ALL CITY EMPLOYEES TO TAKE, TO TEACH THEM ABOUT ZERO WASTE AND THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT THEY CAN BE ZERO WASTE IN THE WORKPLACE, WHICH WILL ALSO HELP THEM TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THAT INFORMATION HOME AS WELL.

AND WE KNOW HOW IMPORTANT SAFETY IS IN OUR EVERYDAY WORK, AND WE KNOW THAT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR OUR COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING TEAM TO SUPPORT THE SAFETY CULTURE.

SO WE MAKE IT A PRIORITY TO WORK WITH OUR SAFETY TEAM TO CREATE REMINDER MESSAGING THAT THEY CAN SET OUT THAT REMINDS OUR OPERATORS ABOUT HEAT, SAFE, HEAT, UH, SAFETY, UH, COLD WEATHER, SAFETY, DISTRACTED DRIVING, DIFFERENT MESSAGES LIKE THAT.

AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR SAFETY TEAM TO CREATE ADDITIONAL MESSAGES THAT CAN BE SHARED TO JUST SUPPORT A SAFETY CULTURE.

OUR DIGITAL AND CREATIVE SERVICES TEAM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR GRAPHIC DESIGN, OUR WEBSITE, SOCIAL MEDIA, OUR AUSTIN RECYCLES APP AND NEWSLETTER, AS WELL AS ANY ONLINE FORMS THAT WE USE.

OF COURSE, AS YOU ALL KNOW, THE CITY OF AUSTIN JUST DID A REBRAND, WHICH REQUIRES OUR DEPARTMENT TO REDESIGN ALL OF OUR CAMPAIGN AND MARKETING MATERIALS INTO THE NEW BRAND GUIDELINES, WHICH IS VERY TIME CONSUMING.

SO FOR EVERY AD THAT WE'RE DOING FOR ALL OF OUR CAMPAIGNS, WE HAVE TO REDESIGN THEM INTO THE NEW BRANDING THIS YEAR.

AND WE ARE WORKING ON UPDATING ALL OF OUR MARKETING MATERIALS AS WELL, AND OF COURSE, EDUCATING ALL OF OUR STAFF ABOUT THE NEW BRAND GUIDELINES AS WELL.

WE DON'T WANT ANYONE ON OUR, IN OUR DEPARTMENT TO BE USING THE OLD BRAND OR TO OLD, UH, LOGOS.

WE WANT THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE USING THE PROPER, UH, BRANDING GOING FORWARD.

AND THEN WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH ACROSS DEPARTMENTS ON GUIDANCE FOR CITY EMPLOYEES AND HOW TO DISPOSE OF OLD BRANDED ITEMS LIKE OLD CLO T-SHIRTS OR CLOTHING THAT MAY HAVE OLD DEPARTMENT LOGOS ON.

THOSE DON'T END UP IN THE LANDFILL.

OUR AUSTIN RECYCLES APP HAS SEEN, UM, WE HAVE OVER 77,000 APP INSTALLS, AND INCLUDING ALMOST 15,000 MORE IN 2025.

OUR CUSTOMERS CAN USE THE APP TO, AND, AND, AND RECOLLECT TO SET UP REMINDERS FOR THEIR SERVICE.

SO WHETHER THEY WANT TO RECEIVE TEXT MESSAGES OR AN EMAIL ABOUT THEIR COLLECTION SERVICES, THEY CAN SIGN UP FOR THOSE REMINDERS.

WE'RE ALSO ABLE TO SEND ALERTS TO OUR CUSTOMERS AS WELL.

SO IF THERE'S A ROUTE THAT'S RUNNING BEHIND, OR IF WE HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT, UH, INFORMATION THAT WE NEED TO GET OUT TO ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS, WE CAN PUSH THAT OUT THROUGH THE APP.

IT ALSO HAS OUR, WHAT DO I DO WITH TOOL, WHICH HAD OVER 177,000 VIEWS OR SEARCHES IN 2025.

SOME OF THE MOST SEARCHED ITEMS ARE, UH, MATTRESSES AND BOX SPRINGS, BUT SOME OF THE OTHER TOP ITEMS ARE SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT ARE THE MOST COMMON CONTAMINANTS IN OUR RECYCLING STREAM, LIKE COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS, STYROFOAM, PLASTIC, AND PLASTIC BAGS.

OUR CUSTOMERS ALSO SCHEDULE THEIR BULK BRUSH AND HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTIONS THROUGH THE RECOLLECT APP AS WELL.

THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE DATA REGARDING SOME OF THOSE APPOINTMENTS.

SO YOU CAN SEE THAT SOME OF THE, THE TOP ITEMS THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN UTILIZING THE APP TO SCHEDULE APPOINTMENTS FOR IS LUMBER, FURNITURE, ELECTRONICS, AND FOR OUR HOUSEHOLD HOUSES, JUST WASTE THE TOP ITEMS. WERE PAINT, PAINT THINNERS BY A LARGE MARGIN.

AND SO THIS JUST LETS YOU KNOW THAT THERE'S A BIG DEMAND IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR OUR CUSTOMERS WHO WANT US TO COME AND PICK UP PAINT DIRECTLY FROM THEIR HOUSE.

AND SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE, WE TAKE THIS INFORMATION AND WE UTILIZE THIS IN OUR MARKETING TO BE ABLE TO PUSH OUT THESE MESSAGES.

SO OBVIOUSLY WE KNOW THAT PAINT IS A, A MAJOR DRIVER OF THE HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE PROGRAM, AND SO WE'LL PROMOTE THAT TO THE COMMUNITY AND JUST LET THEM KNOW THAT THEY CAN USE THIS NEW SERVICE TO HELP US, UH, TAKE THAT PAIN OFF THEIR HANDS SO IT DOESN'T END UP IN THE LANDFILL OR SITTING IN THEIR GARAGES.

FOR DECADES, WE HAD OVER 2.5, ALMOST 2.6 MILLION CALENDAR VIEWS IN 2025, AND WE ALSO ADDED CONTENT IN THREE NEW LANGUAGES LAST YEAR.

SO OUR APP CAN NOW BE TRANSLATED INTO KOREAN, SIMPLIFY CHINESE AND VIETNAMESE.

BEFORE THAT, IT WAS JUST ENGLISH AND SPANISH.

AND SO OUR CUSTOMERS CAN GO INTO THE APP AND SELECT WHAT LANGUAGE THEY WANT THE APP TO, UM, TO BE IN FOR THEM.

[00:25:01]

I'M GONNA QUICKLY GO THROUGH OUR SOCIAL MEDIA.

THIS IS JUST HIGHLIGHTING THE AMOUNT OF FOLLOWERS AND, AND OUR, UH, DEMOGRAPHICS FOR OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS.

SO WITH, UH, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, OUR TARGET AUDIENCES ARE, ARE, ARE OUR DEMOGRAPHICS ARE ABOUT THE EXACT SAME.

WE ALSO STARTED A LINKEDIN PAGE ACCOUNT, UM, LAST MAY.

SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT THAT CAN PROVIDE US AND THE, THE INFORMATION THAT WE CAN PROVIDE.

AND FINALLY, OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM.

THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OUTREACH EVENTS, PRESENTATIONS, AND SPEAKING OPPORTUNITIES.

OUR ZERO WASTE BLOCK LEADER PROGRAM, YOUTH EDUCATION PROGRAM, AND OF COURSE, WORKING ON ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR DEPARTMENT PROJECTS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, PROBABLY OUR LANGUAGE ACCESS PROGRAM.

SO FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH, WE ATTENDED 97 EVENTS IN FISCAL YEAR 25 AND HAD OVER 4,500 INTERACTIONS.

AND WE CHOOSE OUR EVENTS VERY WISELY BASED ON OUR MESSAGING AND WHO WE'RE TRYING TO TARGET WITH OUR MESSAGING, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE GOING INTO, UH, COMMUNITIES AND NEIGHBORHOODS THAT NEED TO HEAR OUR MESSAGE THE MOST, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE GETTING AROUND GOING TO ALL COUNCIL DISTRICTS AND SUPPORTING, UM, THE CITY.

UH, OUR MESSAGE ACROSS THE CITY FOR A ZERO WASTE BLOCK LEADER PROGRAM, WE HAVE 166, UH, CURRENT BLOCK LEADERS, WHICH AS YOU CAN TELL BY THIS GRAPH, THEY'RE SPREAD OUT ACROSS ALL OF THE, ALL OF THE DISTRICTS.

WE HAVE MADE A BIG PUSH OVER THE LAST YEAR TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF BLOCK LEADERS THAT ARE IN OUR MULTI-FAMILY COMMUNITIES.

AND AS OF THIS YEAR, WE HAVE ABOUT, UH, 75% OF OUR BLOCK LEADERS LIVE IN SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, OR OUR CUSTOMERS, AND ABOUT 25% LIVE IN MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING.

AND SO WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO SHARE THIS PROGRAM WITH OUR MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTS SO THAT THEY CAN HELP SPREAD INFORMATION ABOUT MULTI-FAMILY COMPOSTING AND HOW TO RECYCLE PROPERLY IN, IN APARTMENTS AND CONDOS.

AND THESE BLOCK LEADERS TRACK THE WORK THAT THEY DO FOR US, THE NOT THE AMOUNT OF HOURS THAT THEY SPEND EDUCATING THEIR FRIENDS, FAMILIES, AND NEIGHBORS.

AND SO THEN WE CAN UTILIZE THAT INFORMATION AS WELL.

AND THEY'RE VERY IMPORTANT, UH, PASSIONATE, UH, UH, INDIVIDUALS THAT WE LEAN ON HEAVILY TO, TO GET OUR MESSAGE OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY.

WE ALSO HAVE A CONTRACT WITH KEY BOSTON BEAUTIFUL FOR YOUTH EDUCATION THAT PROVIDES EDUCATION FOR K THROUGH 12 YOUTHS FOR FISCAL YEAR 25.

THEY, UH, REACHED OUT TO, HAD 7,778 UNIQUE YOUTH INTERACTIONS AND WENT TO 99 SCHOOLS.

AND SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT OUR ENGAGEMENT TEAM IS WORKING ON, UM, ADMINISTRATIVE RULES UPDATES, UH, OUR NORTHEAST SERVICE CENTER, FUTURE TRANSFER STATION, AND SOME OTHER PROJECTS FOR THAT THE CITY OR THAT AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY IS WORKING ON.

AND SO WE PLAY A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE IN MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE KEEPING OUR COMMUNITY, OUR CUSTOMERS, AND NEIGHBORHOODS IN MIND AS WE'RE, UH, DETERMINING FUTURE TRANSFER STATIONS IF WE'RE DETERMINING, UM, WHAT SERVICES THAT WE ARE PROVIDING TO OUR CUSTOMERS, MAKING SURE THAT THAT IS TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION WHILE WE'RE CREATING THESE PROGRAMS. AND FINALLY, LANGUAGE ACCESS.

WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE TRANSLATING ALL OF OUR INFORMATION INTO SPANISH FOR MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS AND THEN OTHER LANGUAGES IF WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT THERE'S A NEED FOR THAT.

WE COORDINATE INTERPRETERS FOR EVENTS WHEN NECESSARY AND JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UH, WITH OUR COMMUNICATIONS THAT WE ARE PUTTING OUT INTO OUR COMMUNITY, SUCH AS FOR THE APP THAT I MENTIONED, MAKING SURE THAT THAT IS IN LANGUAGES THAT ARE THE MOST SPOKEN IN AUSTIN, MAKING SURE THAT IF WE'RE GOING INTO, IF WE'RE HAVING AN EVENT IN A CERTAIN PART OF AUSTIN, THAT IF WE NEED AN INTERPRETER AT THAT EVENT THAT SPEAKS VIETNAMESE OR ANOTHER LANGUAGE, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THAT AVAILABLE AS WELL.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, PAUL.

THANK YOU FOR THE VERY ENLIGHTENING, UH, PRESENTATION.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

COMMISSIONERS.

UH, ANY QUESTIONS FOR PAUL? SETH? THANKS, PAUL.

UM, I JUST HAD A QUESTION.

YOU HAD DEMOGRAPHICS FOR THE SOCIAL MEDIA.

DO YOU HAVE ANY DEMOGRAPHICS FOR THE APP? UM, JUST WHAT ARE PEOPLE USING IT IN VARIOUS LANGUAGES? IT'S COOL THAT IT'S AVAILABLE.

I THINK THE APP IS GREAT, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHO WAS USING IT, I GUESS.

YEAH.

SO THE APP IN THE OTHER LANGUAGES IS, IT'S, UH, STILL A NEWER THING AS YOU AS, AS YOU SAW ON THERE SO FAR.

WE ONLY HAVE A COUPLE OF PEOPLE SIGNED UP FOR KOREAN AND SIMPLIFIED CHINESE.

I DON'T BELIEVE THERE ARE ANY PEOPLE THAT, ANY COMMUN UH, CUSTOMERS THAT ARE SIGNED UP FOR VIETNAMESE YET.

UM, SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE WORKING ON.

HOW WE, HOW DO WE SHARE THAT INFORMATION OUT AND MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS AVAILABLE.

ARE, ARE PEOPLE USING IT IN SPANISH AS WELL? A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER? I GUESS? Y YES.

I DON'T KNOW AN EXACT NUMBER OF HOW MANY PEOPLE, BUT THE SPANISH VERSION OF THE APP HAS BEEN AVAILABLE FOR A WHILE, SO YES, WE DO KNOW THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE UTILIZING IT IN SPANISH.

COOL.

THANK YOU, SETH.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONERS? THIS IS JOHN AND DISTRICT.

GOOD.

UM, I WAS JUST WONDERING

[00:30:01]

ABOUT WHEN YOU DO PUSH, UH, DIGITAL INFORMATION, HOW THAT WORKS FOR PEOPLE WHO MAYBE DON'T HAVE THE AWESOME REUSE RECYCLE BECAUSE THEY MIGHT USE A DIFFERENT VENDOR FOR THE TRASH.

LIKE ME, WE HAVE TO USE TEXAS DISPOSAL BECAUSE WE HAVE A GATE.

AND DO THEY GETTING COMMUNICATION THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, OR IS THAT UP TO TEXAS AS LOW? I'M, I'M NOT SURE I, I UNDERSTOOD YOUR QUESTION.

Y YEAH, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, IT'S, THE AUDIO IS VERY MUDDLED THERE.

SORRY.

SORRY ABOUT THAT.

UM, IS, SO WHEN, WHEN COMMUNICATE TO DIGITALLY TO PEOPLE, OBVIOUSLY'S GOING THROUGH THE HALF, I'M ASSUMING, WHAT IF SOMEBODY USES TEXAS DISPOSAL OR DOESN'T HAVE THE A RRR APP? DO THEY GET ANY COMMUNICATIONS? YEAH, SO WE PUSH OUT COMMUNICATIONS IN A VARIETY OF WAYS.

SO WE DON'T JUST UTILIZE OUR APP COMMUNICATIONS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS, OUR WEBSITE, UH, WE HAVE OUR NEWSLETTER, WE HAVE OTHER DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTERS.

WE ALSO DO ADVERTISING.

WHEN WE SEND, WHEN WE HAVE SPECIAL MESSAGES THAT WE WANNA PUSH OUT, WE'LL SEND OUT MAILERS.

SO, UH, THE MAILER THAT WE'LL SEND OUT, UH, WE'RE ACTUALLY SENDING OUT A RECYCLING CONTAMINATION MAILER IN MARCH TO ALL, UH, YOU KNOW, ALMOST 215,000 CURBSIDE CUSTOMERS.

SO WE, WE COMMUNICATE WITH OUR CUSTOMERS IN A VARIETY OF WAYS.

THE MOBILE APP IS JUST ONE OF THOSE, WE DO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF OUR CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE, THAT HAVE SIGNED UP FOR APP NOTIFICATIONS AND, AND, AND SO THAT IS A GREAT TOOL FOR US TO UTILIZE, BUT WE DEFINITELY KEEP IN MIND THAT NOT EVERY SINGLE CUSTOMER HAS THE APP.

THANK YOU, JONATHAN.

THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? I'M SORRY.

YES, IT DOES.

JOHN, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? I'VE, I'VE GOT A QUICK ONE, PAUL.

NOW, WHO DESIGNED THESE PROGRAMS? IS THAT IN, IN, IN-HOUSE? IS THAT, UH, IN-HOUSE DESIGN OR FOR THE, FOR THE GRAPHICS OR THE ADS? FOR THE WHOLE THING? I MEAN, EVERYTHING.

WE HAVE, UH, I HAVE FOUR, UH, STAFF MEMBERS WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING THESE MARKETING CAMPAIGNS AND THEN MAKING SURE THAT THEY ARE EXECUTED AND, AND, AND THAT WE, WE DO ALL OF THE TACTICS.

SO WE ARE CREATING THESE CAMPAIGNS IN HOUSE, WE'RE BUILDING THEM, GETTING THEM APPROVED FROM OUR MANAGEMENT AND EXECUTIVE TEAMS. MM-HMM .

AND THEN WE'RE REACHING OUT TO, UH, UTILIZE ALL THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE, SUCH AS, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH DIFFERENT VENDORS IN THE COMMUNITY.

WE WRITE ALL OF THE CONTENT, PUSH IT OUT THROUGH OUR OWN CHANNELS LIKE SOCIAL MEDIA OR OUR NEWSLETTER AND SO FORTH.

SO WE DO, WE DO LEAD AND, AND ACTUALLY EXECUTE ALL OF OUR CONTRACTS OURSELVES OR OUR, OUR, OUR CAMPAIGNS OURSELVES.

SO A SILLY QUESTION, I MEAN, HOW, HOW CAPABLE ARE WE TO EXPAND THIS, TO GROW THIS TO, TO LITERALLY DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT, UH, A VARIOUS TYPES OF PROGRAMS SUCH AS TRACKING PROGRAMS, TRUCK COORDINATION WITH THE, UH, DRIVERS AND THE, UH, COLLECTION MECHANISMS? CAN THAT BE DONE, I MEAN, A PROGRAM DESIGNED IN-HOUSE IN THE FUTURE THAT WE COULD UTILIZE YOUR EXPERTISE AND PERHAPS SAVE A FEW DOLLARS INSTEAD OF OUTSOURCING THIS AS WE DID A COUPLE MONTHS AGO? IS IT POSSIBLE TO, TO BRING SOME OF THAT BACK IN-HOUSE AND, AND UTILIZE THE TALENTS OF, UH, YEAH.

OF YOUR TEAM? YEAH.

SO OUR TEAM DOESN'T CREATE THE TECHNOLOGY.

SO LIKE IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT LIKE THE APP OR THE, THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE UTILIZE MM-HMM .

WE DON'T BUILD THAT IN-HOUSE.

AGAIN, YOU KNOW, BUDGETS ARE TIGHT AND GETTING TIGHTER IT SEEMS, AND YET IT SEEMS OUR EXPENSES ARE GOING UP AND UP AND UP.

THE, YOU KNOW, THAT IS, YOU KNOW, FOR, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR MARKETING TEAM, WE ARE COMMUNICATORS AND MARKETERS, AND WE'RE NOT, UH, UH, TECHNOLOGY, UH, PROFESSIONALS.

WE DO WORK IN WITHIN THE APP AND WE MAKE SURE THAT IT'S FUNCTIONING PROPERLY.

WE WORK WITH DIFFERENT TEAMS ON IN OUR DEPARTMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THE COMPONENTS OF THE APP ARE, ARE FUNCTIONING PROPERLY AND WE WORK WITH OUR VENDOR, UH, BUT WE'RE NOT CREATING THAT TECHNOLOGY.

UH, AND SO THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, EITHER WE'D HAVE TO WORK WITH AUSTIN TECHNOLOGY SERVICES OR A THIRD PARTY VENDOR.

SO THAT'S PROPRIETARY AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE JUST UTILIZING.

SO THE, THE APP IS PART OF OUR RECOLLEC CONTRACT.

THANK YOU, PAUL.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONERS? JAN? I'M SORRY, GO AHEAD.

YEAH, NO PROBLEM.

YOU MENTIONED AUSTIN TECHNOLOGY SERVICES, AND I GUESS THAT DID COME TO MY ATTENTION, UH, DURING THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE APP WHEN WE WERE LOOKING TO, UM, RENEW, I WAS MAKING MENTION OF THE FACT THAT WE WE'RE SEEING THESE CONTRACTS BALLOON IN, IN PRICE, AND THAT ONE WENT FROM UNDER 200,000 TO OVER 600,000, I THINK, FOR THAT, JUST FOR THE ABILITY TO USE THE APP.

UM, AND I'M WONDERING, DO YOU KNOW IF YOU SPOKE WITH AUSTIN TECHNOLOGY SERVICES ABOUT POTENTIALLY BRINGING THAT TECHNOLOGY IN-HOUSE RATHER THAN PAYING AN OUTSIDE VENDOR, WHAT AMOUNTS TO A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF MONEY? IT IS, OF COURSE AN EXTREMELY VALUABLE APP, BUT JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE,

[00:35:01]

JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE SPENDING IT THE RIGHT WAY.

THOUGHTS ON THAT? YEAH, SO I DON'T HAVE ANY DIRECT KNOWLEDGE OF, OF ANY CONVERSATIONS THAT WERE HAD ABOUT POTENTIALLY CREATING AN APP IN, IN-HOUSE OR, OR THROUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UH, WE'VE WORKED WITH, UH, THROUGH THE RECOLLECT, UH, TEAM FOR MANY YEARS WITH OUR APP.

I'M SURE THAT WOULD BE A VERY COMPLICATED AND LONG PROCESS TO CREATE A BRAND NEW APP THAT DOES EVERYTHING THAT WE NEED TO DO, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO TRANSFER SERVICES SEAMLESSLY WITHOUT HAVING INTER INTERRUPTIONS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, AND HOW MANY, YOU KNOW, STAFF MEMBERS THAT WOULD TAKE TO, TO BUILD THAT APP AND TO BE ABLE TO GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS.

AND, AND WE DON'T HAVE THE STAFF WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT, WITHIN OUR TEAM TO FACILITATE THAT PROCESS.

SO WE WOULD HAVE TO HIRE CONTRACTORS OR AN ADDITIONAL STAFF MEMBER TO DO OUR PIECE OF THAT AS WELL.

SO THERE WOULD DEFINITELY BE, UM, YOU KNOW, SIGNIFICANT COSTS MM-HMM .

TO DO THAT.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT WOULD BE, BUT THOSE WOULD, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING TO CONSIDER.

IT WOULDN'T, UM, WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO JUST HAPPEN QUICKLY AND, AND OVERNIGHT.

Y ACKNOWLEDGED.

YEP.

SO THAT, THAT TOO WOULD BE OUTSOURCED BASICALLY, AND ADDITIONAL EXPENSE.

AND THANK YOU, PAUL, I APPRECIATE POTENTIALLY, I HAVE A LOT OF IMPORTANT PEOPLE AROUND ME THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION BETTER.

BUT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE GONNA ASK ME MY OPINION, I'M DEFINITELY GONNA SHARE IT.

UM, THANK YOU AND I THAT I APPRECIATE.

THANK YOU, BUDDY.

ANY OF THE QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS? I HAVE ONE.

UM, THANK YOU.

THIS IS A GREAT PRESENTATION.

LEARN A LOT ABOUT THE GREAT WORK THAT Y'ALL FOR DOING.

UM, YOU SHARED A LOT OF FIGURES AND I WONDER, UH, CAN YOU ALSO CONTEXTUALIZE THOSE YEAR OVER YEAR, ARE WE GENERALLY SEEING GROWTH IN THE NUMBER OF FOLKS YOU'RE ENGAGING AND, AND USING THESE SERVICES? OR HOW, HOW IS THAT YEAR OVER YEAR TRENDING? AND DO YOU HAVE, AND I'M CURIOUS ALSO IN GENERAL, WHAT ARE YOUR, WHAT ARE KPIS? IS IT GROWTH, IS IT SHARED NUMBERS? HOW DOES THAT, HOW DOES THAT GENERALLY, UH, AFFECT WHAT YOU'RE GOING FOR? YEAH, SO WITH OUR MOBILE APP, WE DEFINITELY ARE SEEING AN INCREASE OF APP DOWNLOADS, PEOPLE SETTING UP NOTIFICATIONS.

WE'RE SEEING MORE PEOPLE SEARCH FOR, UH, ITEMS ON OUR, WHAT DO I DO WITH TOOLS? WE'RE DEFINITELY SEEING AN INCREASE, UH, IN USAGE OF OUR APP.

UM, OBVIOUSLY WITH OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS, WE ARE SEEING A, A, A STEADY INCREASE IN SOME, IN, IN FOLLOWERS.

UM, AND WE'RE DEDICATING A LOT OF OUR TIME TO CREATE REALLY GREAT CONTENT THAT WE CAN PUSH OUT BECAUSE WE KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS.

UM, AS FOR OUR, OUR MARKETING CAMPAIGNS AND THE MESSAGING THAT WE'RE PUSHING OUT, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, OUR RECYCLING CONTAMINATION, THAT'S AN ONGOING CAMPAIGN THAT WE DO EVERY SINGLE YEAR.

AND WE WORK WITH OUR, IN OUR COLLECTIONS TEAMS AND OUR RECYCLING PARTNERS TO IDENTIFY THE TOP CONTAMINANTS THAT THEY'RE SEEN IN OUR BLUE CARTS.

AND THEN WE, WE ALSO CHECK OUR, YOU KNOW, TOP SEARCHES ON OUR, WHAT DO I DO WITH TOOL, AND THEN WHAT WE'RE HEARING AT OUTREACH EVENTS TO IDENTIFY, YOU KNOW, WHAT ITEMS WE NEED TO COMMUNICATE TO THE COMMUNITY.

UH, AND OVER THE LAST YEAR, WE HAVE SEEN A DECREASE IN CONTAMINATION RATES FROM ABOUT 20% TO ABOUT 17%.

SO WE KNOW THAT THE MARKETING, THE COMMUNICATION THAT WE'RE DOING, UH, ACROSS THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, BUT ALSO THE WORK THAT OUR OPERATORS ARE DOING, OUR BLOCK LEADERS ARE DOING, AND COMMUNITY AT LARGE TO, TO RECYCLE BETTER, UM, IS WORKING.

AND SO THAT IS HOW WE ARE IDENTIFYING, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR EFFORTS AND, AND HOW THINGS ARE WORKING.

THANK YOU, PAUL.

OH, THANKS FOR SHARING.

OLLIE.

ANY OTHER THOUGHTS? ANY OF THE QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONERS, HEARING NOW? PAUL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH ENLIGHTENING PRESENTATION.

I APPRECIATE THIS.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

WE APPRECIATE IT.

UH, THE NEXT ITEM IS BASICALLY, UH, A RR RICHARD, UH, PRESENTING THE OPERATIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROJECTS THAT ARE IN THE WORKS.

[5. Staff briefing on the status of Austin Resource Recovery Operational and Administrative projects by Richard McHale, Director of Austin Resource Recovery.]

THANK YOU, RICHARD.

GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

UH, RICHARD MCHALE, DIRECTOR FOR AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

UM, I HAVE A FEW THINGS TO MENTION IN OUR DIRECTOR'S REPORT, BUT, BUT BEFORE I GET STARTED ON THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, SHARE SOME GOOD NEWS.

UH, WE HAVE FINALLY FILLED THE VACANCY THAT WAS CREATED BY OUR NEW DEPUTY, UH, GINA MCKINLEY.

UM, SO WE HAVE NOW FILLED OUR, UH, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR POSITION WITH WENDY RIGGINS, WHO SITS RIGHT OVER HERE.

SO SHE IS OUR LATEST, UH, EXECUTIVE FOR THE, FOR A RR.

AND SO WE'VE, WE'VE GOT OUR TEAM ALL FILLED OUT.

SO WE'RE, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE HAPPY TO BE, UH, PAST THAT STAGE NOW, SO YOU BETTER RUN WENDY .

NO, JUST TEA.

WELCOME, WELCOME, AND THANK YOU.

WENDY'S BEEN IN THE DEPARTMENT FOR FIVE, FOUR YEARS NOW, SO YEAH.

SO CONGRATULATIONS.

SHE WAS FORMERLY OVER OUR HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION AND NOW SHE HAS THAT AND A A LOT MORE STUFF TO, TO DEAL WITH, SO THANK YOU.

HAPPY TO HAVE HER.

UM, SO COMMISSIONERS JUST WANNA TOUCH ON A FEW THINGS HERE IN THE REPORT.

UM, JUST, UH, AS YOU KNOW, FEBRUARY 18TH, THERE WILL BE A, UH, A C AND D COMMITTEE,

[00:40:01]

UM, THAT WE'LL BE MEETING IN HOUSE AND BRANCH LIBRARY TO TALK ABOUT POTENTIAL CHANGES TO THE, UH, C AND D RE, UH, ORDINANCE RECYCLING ORDINANCE.

UM, SO THAT'S JUST A REMINDER I WON'T GET INTO THE RECYCLING AND, UH, CAMPAIGNS.

I THINK PAUL DID A GREAT JOB OF TELLING, TELLING EVERYONE ABOUT THE, THE WORK THAT, UH, THAT HIS GROUP IS DOING, UM, THE FURNITURE REUSE WAREHOUSE UPDATE.

UH, HOPEFULLY THE NEXT TIME WE MEET, I WILL BE, UH, THANK YOU TALKING TO YOU ABOUT A PROPERTY THAT WE'RE BUYING.

SO WE'RE REAL CLOSE.

WE JUST NEED TO HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL, UM, STEPS TAKEN TO, TO, UH, TO GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE CAN ANNOUNCE SOMETHING.

SO, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE CLOSE.

IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING AND WE'RE EXCITED TO GET TO THAT POINT WHERE WE CAN, UH, GET, GET WORKING ON THAT, UH, FACILITY.

AND JUST A REMINDER TO, UM, BUDGET, UM, IF THERE ARE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS COMMISSION, UH, THOSE ARE DUE MARCH 31ST, UH, TO THE, UM, TO, UH, BLAKE JOHNSON.

AND THE EMAIL ADDRESS THERE IS ON THE, UH, IN THE REPORT THERE.

SO IF Y'ALL DO HAVE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS, WE DO NEED TO GET IN BY THEN.

SO, AND WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.

THANK YOU, RICHARD.

COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS FOR RICHARD? I HAVE A, A COUPLE ON THE BUDGET ITEMS THEMSELVES, I GUESS, UH, V SINCE WE DO NOT HAVE A MARCH MEETING, JUST EMAIL THOSE AND, UH, COPY STAFF ON THE, UH, QUESTIONS, BUDGET QUESTIONS.

HOW DO YOU WANT US TO SUBMIT THOSE TO YOU? SAVA, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE PROCESS IS FOR THEM GETTING THAT IN? THEY CAN SEND IT TO US, TO BLAKE.

RIGHT.

WONDERFUL.

SO BAS BASICALLY JUST, UH, ONLINE SEND THOSE QUESTIONS IN.

YEAH, AS I THINK, AS JOHN HAS MENTIONED A COUPLE OF TIMES, BUDGETS ARE A, A BIG, UH, A BIG THING NOWADAYS.

AND, UH, AND AGAIN, WE ARE A, UH, ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENT AND YOU GUYS HAVE DONE A WONDERFUL JOB OF PAYING THE BILLS.

I GUESS IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT WE ARE CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT AND DO THAT IN A RESPONSIBLE WAY.

AND, AND I'M KIND OF ENCOURAGED THAT, UH, WE'RE HEADING DOWN THAT, UH, THAT ROAD, A GOOD ROAD THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT MORE PAVING HERE AND THERE, BUT, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING THERE AND I THINK, UH, THERE'S SOME GREAT OPPORTUNITIES.

YOU GUYS HAVE A HECK OF A LOT OF, UH, WONDERFUL RESOURCES THAT ARE SITTING OUT THERE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO, TO UTILIZE TO GENERATE SOME, UH, SOME ADDITIONAL REVENUE FOR THE DEPARTMENT AND FOR THE CITY, ACTUALLY.

BUT, UH, YEAH, AND I THINK WE'LL SEE SOME GREAT EFFICIENCIES TOO ONCE OUR NORTHEAST SERVICE CENTER IS BUILT AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO OPERATE OUTTA THAT FACILITY TOO.

SO THEY'VE ALREADY, UH, STARTED POURING CONCRETE OUT THERE AND ACTUALLY HAVE SOME STEEL GOING UP ON SOME OF THE BUILDINGS.

SO THAT PROJECT'S MOVING AHEAD.

UH, THANK YOU.

SO WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO OPEN UP ON TIME.

WONDERFUL.

COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR RICHARD OR STAFF? RICHARD, THANK YOU.

GREAT.

VERY, VERY MUCH FOR THE, FOR THE UPDATE AND STAFF.

THANK YOU GUYS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO BE WITH US.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

THE NEXT ITEM IS LITERALLY JUST, UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. ANY THOUGHTS, ANY IDEAS, COMMISSIONERS? I, UH, YOU KNOW, ALONG THE TOPIC OF REVENUE GENERATORS, I THINK I'VE, RICHARD AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS AND I THINK, UH, RON AND I HAVE, UH, CHATTED ABOUT THIS.

ALRIGHT, UH, HEARING NO OTHER QUESTIONS, GUYS.

UH,

[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]

IS IT POSSIBLE TO JUST GET, UH, A, SOME HISTORICAL INFORMATION ON THE FM, A 12 LANDFILL, IT'S LAST YEAR OF OPERATION, WHAT KIND OF, UH, REVENUES WERE GENERATED THERE AND, AND, UH, JUST HYPOTHETICALLY SPEAKING, IF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE, WHAT WE CAN AND CAN'T DO? I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS NOT GOING TO EVER BE A, A LANDFILL THAT TAKES IN TYPE ONE, BUT STILL THERE'S, THERE'S SOME OTHER OPPORTUNITIES THERE.

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF DIRT THAT'S, THAT'S PAID FOR.

I KNOW WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO, TO GENERATE SOME INCOME WITH AUSTIN, UH, ENERGY, PUTTING UP SOME SOLAR, SOLAR PANELS, BUT THERE ARE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES THERE THAT, UH, WE CAN LOOK AT EXPLORE.

BUT THAT, THAT'S JUST ONE ITEM THAT I'M CONSIDERING.

COMMISSIONERS.

ALL RIGHT, GUYS, HERE ARE NO OTHER ITEMS. I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT.

GUYS DON'T WANNA LEAVE, HUH? , THIS IS .

I'LL MOVE TO ADJOURN.

OLLIE SAVED US HERE, BUDDY.

AND I'M ASSUMING SETH IS GOING TO SECOND THIS.

I'LL SECOND THAT.