Podcast appearances and mentions of austin resource recovery

We don't want to shame anyone this Earth Day, but Austinites, are you throwing things away correctly? The city has an ambitious goal to drastically reduce the amount of trash we send to landfills by 2040, and we've sadly plateaued. The good news? We now have recycling and composting options for the entire city — and drop-off and pick-up options for folks who aren't Austin Resource Recovery customers. Host Nikki DaVaughn welcomes ARR's Paul Bestgen back on City Cast Austin to check in on why numbers aren't improving and how we can all do trash better.  Learn more about the sponsors of this April 22nd episode: Zach Theatre Tecovas Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST Aura Frames - Get $35-off plus free shipping on the Carver Mat frame with Promo Code CITYCAST Cozy Earth - Use code COZYAUSTIN for 40% off best-selling sheets, towels, pajamas, and more. Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter.  Follow us @citycastaustin You can also text us or leave a voicemail.  Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE 

A federal judge has blocked Elon Musk & D.O.G.E. from accessing Treasury Department payment systems, the school voucher bill that recently passed the Texas Senate could reach the house floor for a vote as soon as this week and Austin Resource Recovery is asking for over $1 million per year to clean up homeless camps.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We've talked before about just how much Austinites throw away, but did you know that the city, as a whole, has a goal to get to zero waste by 2040? With holidays around the corner, there's no time like the present to make a plan to reduce your household waste through the parties, feasts, and onslaught of packages. Austin Resource Recovery's Paul Bestgen joins host Nikki DaVaughn to discuss it all, along with news on how the city is handling bulk trash pick-up starting next year.   Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter.  Follow us @citycastaustin You can also text us or leave a voicemail.  Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE  Learn more about the sponsor of this November 19th episode: Tecovas

Everything's bigger in Texas—and Austin's ambitious zero waste goals are no exception. The city is blazing a trail when it comes to transforming traditional waste management into sustainable resource recovery. On this episode, Maddie Morgan from Austin's Circular Economy Program shows us how the city is creating a more sustainable future. As you'll find out, Maddie's approach to improving the circular economy in her hometown is emblematic of Austin's innovative, creative, and collaborative culture. We hope her outside-of-the-box ideas and success stories might spark solutions in other communities. Maddie knew she had her dream job when she saw one number: 233 tons. In Texas, that's the equivalent of 330 Longhorns or 24 eighteen-wheelers. In Maddie's case, it's the amount of waste that she and the Austin Resource Recovery team have kept from landfill (so far) through Move Out ATX. All told, the economic value of the materials diverted from the landfill through Move Out ATX equates to about $500,000 dollars to date. Yet, as you'll find out, this program is just one of the many ingenious circular economy projects they are spearheading in Austin to achieve zero waste by 2040. These are projects that could be replicated in communities across the U.S., maybe even yours? If you are looking for inspiration and wondering how you can think differently about waste in your community, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

Audit ATX interviews Investigator Maxx Eckert about a recent investigation wherein an Austin Resource Recovery employee misused City resources by taking paid leave under an emergency COVID-19 childcare program he was not qualified to take.

An eye-popping new COVID case count of over 10,000 posted yesterday is a data anomaly - the actual count was around 900. State leaders and energy executives say Friday's expected new winter record power demand may reach up to 74,000 megawatts - but still insist ERCOT and the grid are up to the task. As many as 70,000 Texans are now without power due to localized outages - Governor Greg Abbott has issued disaster declarations for 17 Texas counties, including Williamson. H-E-B shuts down its local stores early at 6 Thursday evening, and plans to reopen a little late at 8am Friday morning. Friday closures include UT Austin and Texas State University, local city and county COVID testing operations, Austin Resource Recovery trash collection, Austin Public Libraries, all to resume on Saturday. ABIA is open, but saw most flights cancelled Thursday with the same expected Friday. Spider House Cafe is soon to re-open under new branding, while fellow UT neighborhood fixture El Mercado Uptown is likely soon to close, as its building is set to be demolished. Several local high schools will have new sports competitors in the fall as UIL announces realignments. And a couple more nights of lows in the 20's remain before the cold snap ends.

On this episode of Building Local Power, host Jess Del Fiacco is joined by Brenda Platt, Director of ILSR's Composting for Community Initiative, and Gena McKinley, Strategic Initiatives Division Manager for Austin Resource Recovery. Their discussion touches on: The economic and environmental benefits of the Circular Economy Program in Austin — including highlights from a recent economic impact report that found it resulted in more than $1.1 billion in total economic activity and approximately 6,300 permanent jobs. The importance of the city's Zero Waste Plan and how the plan has evolved over the past ten years. The many different reuse and recovery programs Gena's team helps facilitate, including fix-it clinics and skill-sharing events. How Gena views the role of local leadership in tackling the climate crisis, building equity, and creating a sustainable economy.   “I mean if you're talking about $1.1 billion, then definitely we want to continue to invest in this in our community, so that we can be prosperous and we can encourage the sector… the benefit of the way that this program is configured within the government organization itself — by having it housed in the solid waste utility but partnered with economic development, especially coupled with solid data verified by an independent consultant — that really is powerful.”   Related Resources City of Austin: Fix-It Clinics City of Austin: Host a Fix-it Clinic Guide City of Austin: Zero Waste By 2040 City of Austin: Circular Economy Program City of Austin Report: Recycling and Reuse-Related Economy of Austin Austin Approves New Zero Waste Plan Austin Universal Recycling Ordinance City of Austin, TX, Reuse Programs – Gena McKinley presentation (12/2/20 to Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments) Repair Revolution: How Fixers Are Transforming Our Throwaway Culture by John Wackman & Elizabeth Knight Transcript Jess: Hello, and welcome to Building Local Power, a podcast dedicated to thought-provoking conversations about how we can challenge corporate monopolies and expand the power of people to shape their own future. I'm Jess Del Fiacco, the host of Building Local Power, a communications manager here at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. For more that 35 years, ILSR has worked to build thriving, equitable communities where power, wealth, and accountability remain in local hands. Jess: In today's episode, we're going to be discussing how cities not only can cut waste, but they can do so while creating local jobs and otherwise boosting the local economy. And we're going to be talking specifically about the City of Austin. And here to join us is Gena McKinley, who is a longtime environmental planner with the City of Austin, and now manages the Strategic Initiatives division of Austin Resource Recovery. Welcome to the show. Gena: Thank you. Good to be here. Jess: And also with me is Brenda Platt, who leads our Composting for Community initiative at ILSR. Welcome, Brenda. Brenda: Hi, nice to be here. Jess: And do you want to kind of get us started with a question? Brenda: Sure. It might not be a question. I just want to say, it's so nice to have Gena here representing the city because the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, we have such a long history working to cut waste with the city. We helped defeat a planned trash incinerator I think more than 30 years ago, and the city had already invested something like $40 million in that incinerator but still canceled it in order to get on the path of zero waste. And we helped develop the first zero waste plan in Texas with this city, which I think was approved back in 2009. And that set that goal to reduce the amount of waste by 90% by 2040. Brenda: And now we've been advocating for zero waste planning around the country for so many years, and I always point to Austin, always. Austin is such a model in zero waste planning, your resource recovery master plan,

The award-winning curbside composting program for residences has expanded by 54,000 households in Austin, Texas. The program now covers all residences in the Austin service area. Our guest on Shades of Green is Ken Snipes, the Director of Austin Resource Recovery. He shares details about the composting program, how to participate, and what is next for the zero waste goals for the City.

Our recycling and overall waste disposal habits are in the headlines with China's new ban on importing many recyclables and the campaigns against plastic straws. We chat with Selene Castillo of Austin Resource Recovery down in Texas about their pursuit of Zero Waste and ways they are working to educate and engage residents, businesses and students.

The Organic Recycling Ordinance (ORO) will go live on October 1, 2018 in Austin, Texas 3-22-2018 As part of its goal to reach 100 % Zero Waste by 2040, the City of Austin will be implementing the Organic Recycling Ordinance (ORO), which goes into effect on October 1, 2018. All businesses with a food service permit will be required to ensure they have a plan in place, and their employees have convenient access to organics diversion services. In order to help meet the City’s goals, food service businesses will need to learn about the program and how they will need to comply. Our guests helped unravel the details of the ORO program. Our guests for March 22nd on Shades on Green were: • Teresa Chapman, Senior Planner for Austin Resource Recovery’s Business Outreach Team • Stacy Savage of Zero Waste Strategies. Stacy is a communications contractor for ARR’s Business Outreach Team • Tyler Markham from Central Texas Food Bank

On today's show we talked about the Austin Reuse Directory. The Austin Reuse Directory is a project from the Austin EcoNetwork, supported by Austin Resource Recovery, designed to make it as easy as possible for Austinites to find a second home for everyday items. Reuse saves items from the landfill and makes them available to your neighbors, who in turn, can use them again! Our guests were: • Rebekka Adams - Bloomers and Frocks: a local vintage thrift store. • Liza Wilson – Toybrary: like a library, but for toys! • Terry Cole - Austin Street Youth Ministry a nonprofit organization that serves homeless young people in Austin. • Rick Lacey - Rick's Refills: he refills printer cartridges, so people don't have to throw them away. • Christopher Moken - Program Director with Re-Mat: a nonprofit organization dedicated to mattress recycling in Texas. All of our guests run local reuse businesses or nonprofits that are listed on the Austin Reuse Directory.

Our Guests were: Stacy Savage, member of the Shades of Green “extended family” and zero waste Guru discussed about training opportunities for local businesses to get up-to-speed on meeting waste reduction goals. Susanne Harm, Public Information Specialist Senior at City of Austin Resource Recovery

In what is probably our most informative episode to date of the Dudes and Beer Podcast we continue with sustainability month as we welcome Memi Cardenas from Austin Resource Recovery and Michelle Hernandez, founder of the Austin Funky Chicken Coop Tour to the studio to discuss the many programs available for recycling and reusing materials from Austin Resource Recovery as well as the new Backyard Chicken classes being offered as part of the City of Austin's composting program.Keeping chickens is a great way to keep food waste out of the landfill. Chicken keeping and composting methods go hand-in-hand to keep food waste out of the landfill while creating healthy soil. Register to attend this free chicken keeping class and learn how! Austin residents who pay the Clean Community Fee on their utility bill qualify for a $75 rebate on a chicken coop or a home composting system. Simply attend a class, then apply! More information at: austintexas.gov/chickenkeepingWhat are some of the benefits of keeping backyard chickens? Is it hard to keep chickens and have them lay eggs? How many chickens should you keep and how much space do they need? What are the basic items needed to properly keep happy chickens? Learn more about these questions and this unique program as well as some of the best tips and tricks for keeping your own flock of backyard chickens with our special guests from Austin Resource Recovery and the Austin Backyard Poultry Meetup. Download our FREE app on iTunes or Android or visit our LISTEN NOW page of the Dudes and Beer website at: www.dudesandbeer.com/listen-live

Finding Innovative Solutions for Recycling in Austin, Texas On this week’s show we covered new innovations in recycling. We had some of the City of Austin’s Design, Technology, and Innovation Fellows in the studio to talk about new research they’ve been conducting, looking at how people in Austin, Texas view recycling. The research study involved meeting people in their homes. Austin residents took researchers on a tour of their home recycling systems, pointing out what was easy or challenging. The interviews were documented with notes, photos, and video recordings. The collection of these stories and observations form the foundation of the research conclusions and will guide the development of service recommendations The idea is that this new research will help the City of Austin develop more efficient recycling programs in order to reach its zero waste goals. Guests included: • Celine Thibault and Katherine Duong – City of Austin Design, Technology, and Innovation Fellows in the Innovation Office. • Emlea Chanslor – Public Information Officer and Marketing Program Manager with Austin Resource Recovery. • Ron Neumond – Zero Waste Program Development for the City of Austin.

Austin Monitor publisher Mike Kanin sits down first with Austin Resource Recovery director Bob Gedert to discuss budget concerns raised by the city's Zero Waste Advisory Commission (ZAWC). Then Kanin sits with Zero Waste Advisory Commission (ZWAC)chair Gerry Acuna and former chair Rick Cofer to discuss those same issues.