Audit finds Austin not on track to meet 'zero waste' goals

AUSTIN, Texas - The City of Austin is not on track to meet its zero-waste goal. According to an audit, it's not even halfway at its goal. 

The audit also found inconsistences in recycling and composting messages.

What we know:

The zero-waste goal means keeping waste out of landfills and incinerators through recycling and composting. City-managed waste is only about 15 percent of the system. The rest is through private haulers. 

Austin Resource Recovery has a zero-waste goal of 90 percent diversion by 2040. That master plan was adopted in 2011. 

The audit found ARR was only at 37 percent for 2024, which is two percent lower than a decade earlier. 

Read the audit below and here.

"Despite their efforts, the diversion rate has been about the same for the last decade at 37 percent," Kathie Harrison with the Auditor's Office said during an Audit and Finance Committee meeting. 

Despite this, Austin is still doing better than peer cities. 

Gena McKinley, assistant director of Austin Resource Recovery, says they're ready to work with the Auditor's Office on improvements. 

"There are a lot of things that have happened over the course of the past decade that really make that diversion rate goal a challenging goal to truly assess our progress towards zero waste," she said.

She says they're keeping that 90 percent goal, but it can be difficult to measure.

"That goal includes things like reuse, reduction, repair, avoided consumption that are really hard to quantify, so we're looking at additional metrics that can help us truly quantify our progress," she said. 

Additional metrics include a per capita disposal rate. 

The audit says there are inconsistencies in messages between the city and private haulers. There are differences in signage even in the same facility. Plus, waste bins vary in design across the city. 

The audit says ARR doesn't have effective internal communication, and they need to set measurable goals, work to standardize messaging, and add educational fees to contracts. 

What's next:

McKinley says they're working towards the goals. 

"We are a big organization, and it's going to take some time to put those efforts into practice but looking forward to working alongside all the different city departments," she said.

ARR says they aim to implement the changes by the end of the next fiscal year.