SOLID WASTE
MATTERS
Fall 2011
CITY OF AUSTIN, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY
MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR
Mission Change – Name Change – From Sanitation to Resource Recovery The Department’s primary role is as a service provider to the citizens of Austin and other City departments, but how this service is provided and the Department’s ultimate mission is evolving. Historically, the role of the Department, once named the Austin Sanitation Department, was to pick up household waste, dispose of dead animals and sweep streets under the mission of creating a cleaner city through sanitary measures. As the Department was assigned more environmental duties, it became the Environmental Services Division of the Public Works Department. Over time, the Department changed its name to reflect an enlarged mission based on the growing need to collect and landfill residential solid wastes in a sanitary landfill, thus the department name–Solid Waste Services. As residents became more environmentally conscious, recycling and yard trimmings collections services were added, creating an integrated materials management system.
Solid Waste Matters 1
Throughout this history, the Department treated the material collected as wastes. The Department even treated recyclables and compostables as diverted waste streams. Zero Waste is a shift from waste management to materials management. Through our new mission, material collected at the curb is now viewed as material that can be reclaimed as a resource for new product manufacturing. Essentially, we are now viewing things we throw away as raw materials for new products. This new perspective treats the material as a resource that is recovered for a second life, rather than a waste stream destined for a landfill. Thus, Zero Waste is another turn in the Department’s life, redirecting the mission toward resource recovery. With this shift, the Department name of Solid Waste Services no longer represents the Department’s mission. As we embrace the Zero Waste goals, the Department’s corporate name will change to Austin Resource Recovery
to better reflect our new vision and mission. New Vision To be the national Zero Waste leader in the transformation from traditional integrated waste collection to sustainable resource recovery. New Mission To achieve Zero Waste by providing excellent customer services that promote waste reduction, increase resource recovery, and support the City of Austin’s sustainability efforts. New Name Austin Resource Recovery
Bob Gedert, Director Austin Resource Recovery
Fall 2011