Austin is another step closer to its goal of reaching Zero Waste by 2040, with the opening of a new facility to handle over half the city鈥檚 recyclables.
Austin has banned the use of , allowed residents to , and tried to . And now, starting in October, 60 percent of Austin鈥檚 recycling will be funneled through .
In the spring of 2011, the Austin City Council unanimously agreed to sign a 20-year deal with Balcones Resources to sort, bundle and sell 60 percent of Austin鈥檚 recyclables at its newly-built plant in northast Austin.
The new $25 million facility is a single-stream recycling center 鈥� which means it sorts and processes all the various recyclables (paper, glass and plastic) commingling in bins. Balcones says the center will be capable of processing 25 tons of single-stream recyclables.
The city is also working with Texas Disposal Systems for the majority of South Austin鈥檚 removal needs.
