Item 006 - ARR Operations and Administrative Projects Update — original pdf

Backup

To: From: Date: Zero Waste Advisory Commission Richard McHale, Director, Austin Resource Recovery August 13, 2025 Subject: Director’s Monthly Report to the Zero Waste Advisory Commission Microburst Cleanup Efforts On May 28, 2025, the City of Austin experienced significant impacts from a microburst storm, which caused widespread damage across multiple neighborhoods that included downed tree limbs, leaves, and bulk debris. In response to the storm, ARR mobilized crews to begin cleaning the impacted areas on May 29th. ARR customers submitted over 2,800 service orders via 3-1-1 for storm debris collection. During the thirty-day cleanup ARR crews and contracted debris haulers collected 5,696 tons of storm debris and approximately one ton of bulk material. The Public Drop-off at Hornsby Bend received approximately 2880 tons of material from over 3,600 customer drop-offs. The department produced approximately 34,000 cubic yards of mulch from the microburst event. ARR Litter Control and Street Cleaning crews were also dispatched to the impacted areas to sweep streets of leaf debris, clean rights-of-way, and remove brush from bike lanes. A second round of storm debris collection was equitably completed at the end of June, ensuring all affected areas received adequate service and that remaining debris was addressed. Circular Austin Showcase Circular Austin Showcase connects circular economy businesses with potential investors in the region. Circular businesses will have a chance to compete in the Showcase on August 26 at 5:30 p.m. at The Cathedral, 2403 E 16th St. This event will be held in Council district 1. Learn more at: austintexas.gov/circularshowcase. Fix-It Austin: Sewing & Textiles Fix-It Clinic Fix-It Austin will host a community sewing repair event on August 16 from 2 to 4 p.m. focused on extending the life of textiles through hands-on skill-building. Participants will work alongside experienced volunteers to learn basic mending techniques such as patching holes, repairing zippers, and fixing seams. This event will be held in Council district 2. Learn more at: austintexas.gov/FixIt. Fix-It Austin: Pants Zipper Replacement Workshop Fix-It Austin will host a zipper replacement sewing event led by a professional fashion designer on August 12 at 6:00 p.m. at the Cepeda Branch Library. Participants will gain practical experience removing and replacing faulty zippers on pants, while building confidence with sewing machines and learning techniques to extend the life of their clothing. This event will be held in Council district 3. Learn more at: austintexas.gov/FixIt. Austin Resource Recovery FY 2025-2026 Proposed Budget Highlights The Department’s Proposed Operating Budget increases by 9.0% to $146.5M in the upcoming fiscal year 2026. The ARR FY26 Proposed Budget includes eight new FTEs which include seven new positions and one transfer position from DSD. Five FTE within ARR’s Commercial Code Compliance will transfer-out to Development Services for $0.6 million. The FY 2026 Budget includes a 4.0% base wage increase for all civilian employees. The City’s minimum living wage pay rate is increasing from $21.63 to $22.05 per hour. Insurance premiums will remain unchanged for the 3rd year in a row. A significant cost driver for FY26 includes an increase in General Obligation Debt Service payments of $1.6M related to the Northeast Service Center construction. This increase is offset by reduced debt service payments of ($0.6M) as debt is retired. ARR’s Proposed Budget includes funding increases for fleet fuel and maintenance, disposal and processing contracts, replacement vehicle funding, and personnel costs, among other things. FY 2025-2026 Proposed Opera�ng Budget Revenue Requirements Ending Balance FTEs FY25 Amended $134,556,926 FY26 Proposed $ $145,356,416 $134,460,604 $146,590,109 % Inc 8.0% 9.0% FY27 Planned $153,324,869 $153,379,422 $10,552,681 $12,946,438 22.7% $12,891,885 530 533 535 % Inc 5.4% 4.6% -0.4% Capital Appropriations $11,685,000 $13,236,323 11.7% $12,780,322 -3.4% Major Rate Changes Service Description Monthly Clean Community Fee Residential Monthly Clean Community Fee Commercial Monthly Base Customer Fee Residential & Commercial Small Cart (24-gal) Residential & Commercial Medium Cart (32-gal) Residential & Commercial Large Cart (64-gal) Residential & Commercial Extra Large (96-gal) Residential & Commercial Amended FY 2025 Proposed FY 2026 $ Change % Change $5.45 $14.65 $21.90 $4.30 $5.75 $11.50 $36.50 $5.45 $12.85 $23.80 $4.70 $6.25 $12.50 $40.30 $0.00 0.0% ($1.80) -12.3% $1.90 $0.40 $0.50 $1.00 $3.80 8.7% 9.3% 8.7% 8.7% 10.4% Multifamily Composting ARR is continuing to educate and inform about the addition of multifamily composting requirements in the Universal Recycling Ordinance. An advertising campaign that includes bus ads is currently running this summer through August reminding the community that composting is now required at multifamily properties. Staff will be on CBS Austin’s We Are Austin in August and September. The campaign also includes the summer event series of Zero Waste Resource Fairs, with the last one taking place August 17. More information about the requirements can be found at austintexas.gov/multifamilycomposting. Resident education can be found at austintexas.gov/zwapartments. MoveOutATX 2025 MoveOutATX 2025 took place from July 26 to 31 in Austin’s west campus neighborhood near the University of Texas. The program partnered with 10 local reuse organizations to collect donations at 5 staffed stations. This year also marked the fourth installment of the Free Furniture Market, which gives away furniture donated during MoveOutATX to community members. Preliminary data indicates a slight decrease in overall participation—measured by donation drop-offs and Free Furniture Market attendance—compared to previous years. However, the Free Furniture Market’s “Social Service Shopping Hour,” which offers early access to social service agencies and their clients, saw significant growth in engagement this year, with 77 visits recorded across the six-day event. ARR Solicitation Updates As of August 4, 2025 ZWAC Meeting August 13, 2025  Preparing for Council: • Compost Processing Services: The Contractor shall provide complete processing, sorting, and composting of organics, yard waste, food scraps, and food-/oil-soiled compostable paper, as well as marketing services to include detailed data reporting to support the City’s residential curbside compost materials collection services. Link to the current contract.  Published: • Collection and Recycling Services of Scrap Tires: The Contractor shall provide collection, recycling and processing services for scrap tires and tire-derived materials collected from a public drop-off facility. Collection Services shall include the removal, diversion, and final handling of tires of various types, sizes, and conditions, including those still mounted on rims on an as-needed basis. No current contract. • Residential Dumpster Collection Services: The Contractor shall provide complete collection, transportation, maintenance, and clean-up of refuse materials generated by residential multi-unit customers located within specific metropolitan areas of the city. Link to the current contract.  Expected to be Published Within 90 days: • Central Business District Collection Services: The Contractor shall provide complete collection, transporting, processing, and disposal services of trash, bulk materials, recycling, compost, and daily litter cleanups, within the CBD. Link to the current contract. • Routeware: The Contractor shall provide software product support for ARR’s mobile app and web widget that allows customers to check collection schedules, look up what to do with an item, schedule an appointment at the Recycle & Reuse Drop-off Center and schedule a collection. Link to the current contract. • Collection, Hauling, and Disposal of Materials at City Facilities: The City of Austin seeks a qualified Contractor to provide collection, hauling, and disposal of landfill trash, single-stream recycling, compostable materials, Industrial Class 2, and special nonhazardous waste. Link to the current contract. Definitions: CCO CO-OP (Capital Contracting Office): Administers the procurement of professional and construction services. (Cooperative Contract): A contract that has been competitively bid and issued by another government or purchasing alliance with the intention of sharing it with other governmental entities. (Interlocal Agreement): A collaborative contract between local government entities (for example, ARR and a county, state, or school district) to provide more efficient and less costly services, where any payments are made from current revenues. (Invitation for Bid): Formal bidding documents inviting suppliers to submit pricing for goods or services. (Request for Information): Used to obtain industry input, feedback, or reactions from potential suppliers prior to issuing a solicitation. (Request for Quotation): Informal request to suppliers to provide quotes on specific goods or services. (Request for Qualifications): Formal solicitation used when qualifications are the main criteria for professional services. (Request for Proposals): Formal request for a supplier to provide a solution and cost estimate to a complex need. ILA IFB RFI RFQ RFQS RFP Page 1 of 1 Austin Resource Recovery Curbside Collection and Drop Off Center Operations LAST FISCAL YEAR-FY24 CURRENT FISCAL YEAR-FY25 Description of Services FY2023 FY2024 May 2024 Jun 2024 FY24 YTD (Oct 23-Jun 24) May 2025 Jun 2025 d e s o p s D s n o T i Tons of Curbside Trash Tons of Curbside Bulk Disposed HHW Operations Tons Disposed Estimated Tons of Curbside Recycling Residuals (1) Total Disposed Tons Collected Curbside and from Drop Off Center Operations 132,867 8,383 540 136,713 9,366 484 10,553 10,610 12,233 1,000 54 980 10,722 1,129 45 825 103,090 6,424 355 8,092 11,663 531 46 829 13,507 520 41 775 152,343 157,173 14,267 12,721 117,960 13,069 14,843 116,779 152,053 FY25 YTD (Oct 24-Jun 25) 104,417 4,312 329 FY 2025 Goal 135,000 5,749 439 7,721 10,865 3,636 3,167 32,295 3,426 3,295 30,357 51,135 (1) Estimated tons of curbside recycling processed by vendors as residual - based on bi-annual sample route audit Total Tons of Recyclables Collected RRC Tons Recycled/Reused RRC Tons of Brush Collected HHW Operations Tons Recycled/Reused 53,839 1,528 0 384 42,315 1,811 0 344 Tons of Drop Off Center Collections Recycled/Reused 1,691 1,948 139 0 34 153 147 0 29 141 Tons of Curbside Compost Collected Tons of Curbside Bulk Recycled Tons of Curbside Brush Collected Tons of Curbside Textiles Collected Tons of Carts Recycled 44,445 221 175,089 58 124 42,716 206 6,713 46 177 3,682 2,855 21 989 5 25 35 719 5 16 i d e t r e v D s n o T 1,294 0 248 1,383 35,186 158 5,233 33 128 190 0 32 183 3,599 39 375 4 17 163 0 36 175 3,314 25 1,810 4 16 1,316 0 284 1,755 0 378 1,404 1,872 32,950 196 4,370 32 164 43,933 261 5,827 42 218 Total Diverted Tons Collected Curbside and from Drop Off Center Operations Total Tons Collected Curbside and from Drop Off Center Operations Estimated Percent of Curbside Collected Materials Diverted from Landfills by ARR 275,466 94,122 8,510 6,938 74,416 7,644 8,639 69,473 103,289 427,809 251,294 22,777 19,659 192,376 20,713 23,481 186,252 255,342 63.42% 37.04% 37.03% 34.90% 38.31% 36.42% 36.38% 36.89% 36.64% Pounds of Trash Collected per Customer per Pickup 23.76 24.39 26.01 22.77 24.60 24.73 34.61 25.27 24.49 Number of Trash and Recycling Customers 215,063 215,723 217,256 217,503 215,105 217,838 180,276 212,024 212,024 Pounds of Recycled Materials Collected per Customer per Pickup (every other week) Pounds of Curbside Compost Collected per Customer per Week 19.37 15.19 15.56 13.54 15.51 14.62 16.98 14.79 18.67 8.00 7.67 7.87 6.10 8.45 7.68 8.54 8.03 8.02 Number of Curbside Compost Customers 213,758 214,366 215,944 216,134 213,753 216,444 179,253 210,717 210,717 Total Tons of Dead Animals Collected from COA Rights-of-Way and the Animal Shelter 71 55 3 3 44 7 8 54 72 Austin Resource Recovery Curbside Collection and Drop Off Center Operations 22,777 19,659 20,713 23,481 8,510 6,938 7,644 0 8,639 May 2024 Jun 2024 May 2025 Jun 2025 Total Diverted Tons Collected Curbside and from Drop Off Center Operations Total Tons Collected Curbside and from Drop Off Center Operations Estimated Percent of Curbside Collected Materials Diverted from Landfills by ARR 36% 36% 37% 37% 0 0 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% May 2025 Jun 2025 FY25 YTD (Oct 24-Jun 25) FY 2025 Goal Category of Waste Generation Residential Waste Diversion (city serviced accounts) Community Diversion Rate Reporting Status and Diversion Results for All Categories of Waste Generation 2020-21 Actual 41.96% 2021-22 Actual 38.32% 2022-23 Actual 63.42% 2023-24 Actual 37.04% 2024-25 Goal 36.64% 2024-25 Current 36.89% * * * * * * *As prescribed in the (1) 2023 Austin Resource Recovery Comprehensive Plan, the Department shall conduct a detailed waste assessment study every five years to determine progress toward our Zero Waste goal. This plan is an update to the (2) 2011 Master Plan (see link below).The first such study was published in (3) 2015, titled Austin’s 2015 Community Diversion Study (see link below). The study focused on estimating diversion from both ARR-serviced properties and commercial properties. Commercial properties include retail businesses, food service establishments, professional offices, industrial properties, institutional facilities, government facilities and multifamily properties five units and larger. According to Austin's 2015 Community Diversion Study, Residential Waste Diversion Rate (City-serviced accounts) represents approximately 15% and the Community Diversion Rate (accounts serviced by private waste haulers) represents approximately 85% of the total citywide. (1) 2023 Austin Recovery Comprehensive Plan (2) 2011 Master Plan (3) Austin's 2015 Community Diversion Study Residential Waste Diversion (City-serviced accounts) 63.42% 41.96% 38.32% 37.04% 36.64% 36.89% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% 2020-21 Actual 2021-22 Actual 2022-23 Actual 2023-24 Actual Category of Waste Generation Commercial Tons Landfilled** Commercial Tons Recycled** Commercial Organics Tons** CY21 1,558,819 471,492 95,840 2024-25 Goal CY22 1,358,344 454,031 87,896 2024-25 Current CY23 897,211 343,834 87,279 ** Numbers reported here are compiled from self-reported data submitted by licensed private waste haulers via semi-annual tonnage reports required under Section 15-6-3 of the City Code on a calendar year basis and as such, ARR does not attest to the accuracy of these amounts. These numbers reflect data from 100-200 licensed haulers (number of haulers varies over time), and include haulers servicing dumpsters, roll-offs, construction and demolition debris, landscaping debris, and metal scrap. These numbers do not reflect all data sources included in Austin's 2015 Community Diversion Study. Zero Waste Advisory Commission Meeting - August 2025 Single Stream Recycling Statistical Report FY25: October thru June Texas Disposal Systems (TDS) and Balcones Resources, Inc. (BRI) Month and Year Contractor Tons Delivered Contractor Payments Net Value to the City Landfill Cost Avoidance Revenue Processing Cost Net Value Net Amount * Due/(Owed) $ per ton value Cost Per Ton Total October 2024 November 2024 December 2024 January 2025 February 2025 March 2025 April 2025 May 2025 June 2025 July 2025 2,144.93 2,065.32 $4,210 1,877.78 2,230.55 4,108.33 2,287.96 2,261.93 4,549.89 1,951.48 2,779.03 4,730.51 1,748.80 2,046.62 3,795.42 2,040.11 2,068.38 4,108.49 1,945.56 2,310.56 4,256.12 1,788.23 2,466.41 4,254.64 1,955.56 2,113.95 4,069.51 TDS BRI Total TDS BRI Total TDS BRI Total Total TDS BRI TDS BRI Total TDS BRI Total TDS BRI Total TDS BRI Total TDS BRI Total TDS BRI August 2025 TDS BRI Total 0.00 Total 0.00 September 2025 TDS BRI Total 0.00 36,850.76 232,267.97 $269,119 107,246.50 202,401.46 $309,648 ($70,395.74) $29,866.51 ($40,529) ($70,395.74) $22,399.88 ($47,996) ($32.82) $10.85 $28.34 $28.34 $30,199 $240,920 $271,118 $35,936 $233,022 $268,957 $30,218 $294,123 $324,341 $27,198 $210,298 $237,497 $33,916 $224,773 $258,688 $31,265 $239,277 $270,542 $28,936 $254,225 $283,161 $28,224 $192,418 $220,641 $0 $0 $0 $93,889 $218,594 $312,483 $114,398 $221,669 $336,067 $97,574 $272,345 $369,919 $87,440 $200,569 $288,009 $102,006 $202,701 $304,706 $97,278 $226,435 $323,713 $89,412 $241,708 $331,119 $97,778 $207,167 $304,945 $0 $0 $0 ($63,690) $22,326 ($41,365) ($78,462) $11,353 ($67,110) ($67,356) $21,778 ($45,578) ($60,242) $9,730 ($50,512) ($68,090) $22,072 ($46,018) ($66,013) $12,842 ($53,171) ($60,476) $12,518 ($47,958) ($69,554) ($14,749) ($84,304) $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 ($63,690) $16,744 ($46,946) ($78,462) $8,515 ($69,948) ($67,356) $16,333 ($51,022) ($60,242) $7,297 ($52,945) ($68,090) $16,554 ($51,536) ($66,013) $9,632 ($56,382) ($60,476) $9,388 ($51,087) ($69,554) ($14,749) ($84,304) $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 ($33.92) $7.51 $28.34 $28.34 ($34.29) $3.76 $28.34 $28.34 ($34.52) $5.88 $28.34 $28.34 ($34.45) $3.57 $28.34 $28.34 ($33.38) $8.00 $28.34 $28.34 ($33.93) $4.17 $28.34 $28.34 ($33.82) $3.81 $28.34 $28.34 ($35.57) ($6.98) $28.90 $28.90 $28.90 $28.90 $28.90 $28.90 $28.90 $28.90 $60,787 $58,531 $119,318 $53,216 $63,214 $116,430 $64,841 $64,103 $128,944 $55,305 $78,758 $134,063 $49,561 $58,001 $107,562 $57,817 $58,618 $116,435 $55,137 $65,481 $120,618 $50,678 $69,898 $120,576 $56,516 $61,093 $117,609 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 FY25 Totals 38,083.16 $2,404,065 $2,880,609 ($476,544) ($512,165) $1,081,556