City of Austin to make final city-wide pass to collect storm debris

AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Resource Recovery (ARR) has started its second pass through the city to collect storm debris from customers. The second pass should be completed later this week, and crews will then begin a final city-wide pass in April. 

Crews have collected over 166,000 tons of debris in over 23,000 truckloads through March 20 since the winter storm in early February. ARR typically collects around 6,000 tons of material in a year of semiannual large brush collections. 

Customers do not need to call 3-1-1 to request a collection for the final city-wide pass. Crews are driving down all streets and picking up debris that is properly set at the curb. All existing 3-1-1 service requests for storm debris will be closed at the end of March prior to the final pass. 

ARR customers should follow set-out guidelines as closely as possible to avoid collection delays. There may be several reasons why crews have been unable to collect all the debris on a street:

• The pile could have been blocked by a vehicle or set out too close to a mailbox or other personal property.
• Some set-outs may have been too far from the curb or blocked by low-hanging tree limbs.
• Debris may have been incorrectly mixed with bulk items, such as furniture, appliances or fence pieces.

After April, customers should contact 3-1-1 to request a special collection for remaining storm debris. Crews will respond to 3-1-1 service requests through June 30. 

Austin and Travis County residents can still drop off debris at Austin Water's Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant at 2210 FM 973 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The facility will also be open for drop-offs on Sunday, March 26 but will be closed on Sundays going forward. 

Storm debris collection information and updates can be found at austintexas.gov/stormdebris.