Dive Brief:
- A new report notes that 44% of waste from Austin, TX sent to a landfill could be recycled. Austin Resource Recovery’s Waste Characterization Study delves into the amount of recyclables and compost-ready waste disposed of through the city’s curbside recycling.
- Organic waste such as food waste, yard waste, wood and other organic materials make up 46% of the waste Austin disposes of in a landfill. About 90% of waste now sent to a landfill from Austin could be recycled or composted, the study reports.
- Of the recyclables the city sends to a landfill, 13% is recyclable plastic, 23% is recyclable paper, and 8% is recyclable metal and glass. Organic waste is the largest proportion of potentially usable waste deposited in a landfill from Austin, though the city began a voluntary program for compost collection in which 14,000 households participate.
Dive Insight:
Austin may not be very different from many cities in the U.S. in allowing so much potentially usable matter into landfills. With 90% of waste it sends to a landfill recyclable or compostable, the volumes of waste that could be diverted is staggering. The city is moving in a recycling-friendly direction with the study, and also with an educational outreach effort through which residents will get a recycling guide in the mail to help them increase the amount of recyclables they divert from a landfill.
