Recycling Ordinance
Recycling Ordinance
In August 2009, Mayor Lee Leffingwell asked the Solid Waste Advisory Commission (SWAC) to revisit Austin’s recycling ordinance and address the current exemption that exists for some commercial and multi-family properties. SWAC formed a subcommittee and appointed Commissioner Rick Cofer as chair to address this issue and come up with recommended changes. Commissioners J.D. Porter and Maydelle Fason were also appointed to the subcommittee. Currently, there are approximately 10,211 commercial and multi-family properties in Austin. Of those properties, the City estimates that only seven percent of those properties comply with recycling requirements. The goal of reforming the ordinance is to make Austin a zero waste city by 2040, meaning a 90 percent reduction in landfill waste.
Upon appointment of the subcommittee, Commissioner Cofer specifically reached out to RECA to be a stakeholder in this process. RECA has provided individuals to testify on behalf of commercial and multifamily property owners to describe the challenges associated with expanding recycling services and to explore solutions.
After a series of meetings in fall 2009, the subcommittee released its preliminary recommendations and solicited feedback on them at meetings on Tuesday, November 24 and Monday, November 30, 2009. The subcommittee has been looking for more feedback from retail, restaurant, and industrial property owners and managers on what new recycling requirements, if any, should be applicable to each property type and has been accepting feedback since November. On Wednesday, January 27, 2010, the moved forward with a new set of Phase One recommendations. On Wednesday, July 21, 2010 and Wednesday, October 20, 2010, the SWAC reviewed the subcommittee's recommendations and staff's analysis and voted in support of a list of recommendations.
On Thursday, November 4, 2010, Austin City Council members approved an ordinance that will expand recycling requirements to more materials and more properties beginning October 1, 2012. The following SWAC recommendations were adopted by the Austin City Council.
For multi-family properties, these are the new recycling requirements:
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Require recycling at the City's 2,436 multi-family properties on the following timeline:
509 properties of 100 units and more - October 1, 2012
92 properties of 75 to 100 units - October 1, 2012
126 properties of 50 to 74 units - October 1, 2013
339 properties of 26 to 49 units - October 1, 2014
1,370 properties of 25 units and less will not have to comply until the City can provide single stream recycling collection services. -
Additional proposed ordinance requirements include establishing the following minimum materials to be recycled by multi-family properties: (1) mixed paper (newspaper, mixed paper, office paper, etc); (2) plastic containers, grades #1 (PETE) and #2 (HDPE); (3) corrugated cardboard; (4) aluminum cans; and (5) glass.
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Additional issues addressed in the proposed ordinance for multi-family units include: (1) filing a recycling plan form, (2) educating tenants, (3) universal signage at properties, and (4) creating a fee or mechanism to encourage multi-family tenants to participate in their recycling programs.
For commercial properties, these are the following new recycling requirements:
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Require recycling at the City's 2,178 commercial office buildings on the following timeline:
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Additional proposed ordinance requirements include establishing the following minimum materials to be recycled by commercial office buildings: (1) mixed paper (newspaper, mixed paper, office paper, etc); (2) plastic containers, grades #1 (PETE) and #2 (HDPE); (3) corrugated cardboard; (4) aluminum cans; and (5) glass.
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Additional issues addressed in the proposed ordinance for commercial units include: (1) filing a recycling plan form, (2) educating tenants, and (3) universal signage.
164 properties of 100,000 square feet and more - October 1, 2012
60 properties of 75,000 to 99,999 square feet - October 1, 2013
97 properties of 50,000 to 74,999 square feet - October 1, 2014
136 properties of 26,000 to 49,999 square feet - October 1, 2015
1,721 properties of less than 26,000 square feet will not have to comply until the City can provide single stream recycling collection services.
Additionally, the ordinance calls for the following amendments to the Land Development Code:
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Increase impervious cover by 100 square feet to accommodate more space for recycling facilities;
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Decrease parking requirements by one space, if space is dedicated to recycling;
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Require recycling planning at the site plan and permit stage; and
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Allowing waste and recycling containers side-by-side (exterior and on each floor).
Phase II recycling recommendations will include the food service industry (restaurants, grocers, catering, etc.), retail, and manufacturing/industrial. The City of Austin's SWAC kicked-off a series of meetings regarding Phase II items of the Universal Recycling Ordinance (URO) on Monday, March 21, 2011. Phase II will likely expand the URO to the following property types: restaurants, bars, mobile food vendors, hotels, motels, event centers, retail centers, grocers, convenience stores, and industrial and manufacturing centers.
On Tuesday, August 16, 2011, SWAC opted to extend Phase II stakeholder meetings until January 2012 with the following meetings scheduled:
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Retailers, Grocers, and Convenience Stores
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
General Retail
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Generator and Hauler Requirements
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Restaurants and Bar
Subcommittee Recommendations (June 7, 2010)
Subcommittee Recommendations (January 24, 2010)
Subcommittee Recommendations (2009)
