Versión en español a continuación. Special Called Meeting of the Zero Waste Advisory Commission Thursday, December 17, 2020 Zero Waste Advisory Commission to be held Thursday, December 17, 2020, with Social Distancing Modifications Public comment will be allowed via telephone; no in-person input will be allowed. All speakers must register in advance (Wednesday, December 16, 2020) by Noon). All public comment will occur at the beginning of the meeting To speak remotely at the December 17, 2020 Meeting, residents must: •Call or email the board liaison at (512) 974-1931 Jaime.Germany@austintexas.gov no later than noon, (the day before the meeting). The information required is the speaker's name, the item number(s) they wish to speak on, whether they are for/against/neutral, and a telephone number or email address. •Once a request to speak has been called in or emailed to the board liaison, residents will receive either an email or phone call providing the telephone number to call on the day of the scheduled meeting. •Speakers must call in at least 15 minutes before the meeting starts to speak, late callers will not be accepted and will not be able to speak. •Speakers will be placed in a queue until their time to speak. •Handouts or other information may be emailed to Jaime.Germany@austintexas.gov by Noon the day before the scheduled meeting. This information will be provided to Board and Commission members in advance of the meeting. •If this meeting is broadcast live, residents may watch the meeting here: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live Reunión del Zero Waste Advisory Commission FECHA de la reunion (December 17, 2020) La junta se llevará con modificaciones de distanciamiento social Se permitirán comentarios públicos por teléfono; no se permitirá ninguna entrada en persona. Todos los oradores deben registrarse con anticipación (December 16, 2020 antes del mediodía). Todos los comentarios públicos se producirán al comienzo de la reunión. The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal ac cess to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 hours) before the meeting date. Please call Jaime Germany Terry at Austin Resource Recovery Department, at (512-974-1931), for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on the Zero Waste Advisory Commission), please contact Jaime Germany Terry at (512) 974-1931. …
To: From: Zero Waste Advisory Commission Ken Snipes Director Austin Resource Recovery Date: December 17, 2020 Subject: Director’s Monthly Report to the Zero Waste Advisory Commission Circular Meet-Ups The Circular Economy Program launched Circular Meet-Ups, a new virtual networking series for the circular economy community, on December 1st as part of their ongoing business engagement services. These free meet-up events feature speakers from circular economy businesses and projects and provide a forum for circular economy start-ups, professionals, and interested community members to connect regularly. At the December 1st event, the founders of re:3D, Trashless, and Junkluggers of Austin shared the stories of their companies with a virtual audience of about 20 business leaders, sustainability professionals, and students. Circular Meet-Ups will take place on the first Tuesday of every other month, with the next event occurring on February 2nd. All who are interested can register for any of the 2021 events at http://austincircularmeetups.eventbrite.com. Zero Waste Business Rebate The Business Outreach Team is targeting rebate funding on several options, with the top priority being food rescue. Staff will be sending postcards next week to notify food rescue organizations of the food rescue rebate, which encourages the purchase of equipment that increases their ability to received food donations. Eligible expenses include coolers, shelving, and food transportation equipment. The team will follow up with additional zero waste education early next year, encouraging food permitted businesses, like restaurants, to donate their food. Learn more at https://www.austintexas.gov/department/zero-waste-business-rebate Green Fleet Austin Resource Recovery is actively working with Fleet Services to build a more sustainable fleet. ARR has worked with various vendors to test out their electric vehicles and trucks. We are in the process of adding additional electric sedans to our fleet. We also plan to replace our conventional pickup trucks with electric trucks in our FY ’22 purchase. Pricing is not yet available from contracted vendors for FY ’21 for suitable models. Currently, ARR is unable to utilize electric refuse trucks because the current electric refuse trucks in the market have short operational mileage as ARR is covering large areas without transfer stations. However, ARR is continuously looking into options on transfer stations and monitoring the market to electrify our refuse trucks to meet our operational needs. Give A Great Story Holiday Campaign ARR launched the 2020 ‘Give A Great Story’ holiday campaign, encouraging Austinites to rethink shopping and gifting this holiday season by shopping zero …
