City of Austin mulls over more recycling, but cost in these lean times, an issue

We hear from an article by Sarah Coppola in the Austin American Statesman that the City of Austin is considering a requirement that more offices, businesses and smaller apartment complexes recycle—but some have raised concerns about the practicality and cost.

Right now, Austin requires apartments and complexes with 100 or more units and businesses with 100 or more employees to make recycling containers available onsite and pay private haulers to pick them up. The city program covers single-family homes, some small businesses, duplexes, and fourplexes. But, the article reports, according to Rick Cofer, head of a City Council-appointed committee on the issue “The city must broaden its 11-year-old rules if it wants to meet its recently adopted "zero waste" goal of diverting 90 percent of trash from landfills by 2040.”

Austin, like other cities in the region is struggling to do the right thing in a tough economy and weak commodities market. Today’s return on useful trash is just not what it once was. But also, the city shells out substantial funds to have recycling hauled to…you guessed it…San Antonio!

Upshot…SA-town has a local plant but no recycling ordinance for apartments or businesses yet on the books. If we want to achieve serious waste reduction, what about skipping the partial-solution and building the capacity for city-wide participation? Your thoughts?

What people are saying

Some people say San Antonio won't recycle. But then there are those who say...

“I live in an apartment and I have to bring all of my stuff to work to recycle…”

“Please help us make a difference with recycling at apartments.”

“Recycling should be available to all citizens of San Antonio.”

“Living in the apt community now has simply disappointed me because they do not offer recycling. I pay for trash and i would happily pay for recycling. Seeing the 10 dumpsters overflowing with waste, and being picked up 3x a week is outrageous. We are so far behind and our children have a great lesson to learn in recycling. Please help”

“I'm a college student and I was recently given an assignment for a class I was taking to estimate the amount of stuff being thrown into the dumpsters in my surrounding neighborhood that could have otherwise been recycled. Well, after a month all I can say is that seeing is truly believing. My God, it truly is a shame that San Antonio doesn't offer recycling services to more of its residents. About 60% of the junk tossed was recyclable.”

“I spent an hour driving around trying to find a place to recycle my cardboard boxes, and I ended up throwing them in the dumpster because I could not find a place to take them. If given the chance or the incentive, people will recycle.”

What do you think?

Ease of recycling important to reduce waste stream

Hey San Antonio! Recent research published in the Journal of Evolutionary Economics by E. Brouillat, demonstrated that improvement in recycling is necessary but not sufficient to solve the issue of increased waste. Increasing the ease of recycling and extending product life will also be necessary to slow the waste stream.

Increasing the ease of recycling:
This finding underscores the importance of providing more locations for San Antonians to recycle. Just think, how much more would be recycled if the locations to do so were readily available? Help us in the support of this cause by signing our petition.

Here are 2 ways you can extend product life:
- Buy reusable drinking containers – safe plastics have the numbers 2, 4, & 5 inside the chasing arrows, Voss sells glass containers at some HEB’s, Kleen Kanteen also has drinking containers made out of stainless steel
- Buy refurbished computers from vendors in San Antonio:
Allgen Computer Warehouse - http://www.allgen.com/
All Systems Go Software http://www.asg-sa.com/

Prom Dresses to Wingtips

Beyond the usual papers, bottles and cans, a host of organizations and individuals are joining forces to keep the useful stuff of our lives in circulation and out of landfills.

Have a stroller that’s taking up space in your closet? Freecycle is a grassroots group with 7+ million members around the world that promotes the free exchange of still-useful stuff in local towns. You can post or ask for an item at a group near you at http://www.freecycle.org/.

If you find yourself with a “new or nearly new” gown, purse, jewlery or wrap, you can donate the duds that allow a high school student at Northeast ISD to attend her prom, recital or scholarship ceremony at Formally Yours Project, a nonprofit put together by the Lee High School Campus PTA.

Dell and Goodwill Industries set up the Reconnect Project to “accept any brand of used computer equipment in any condition” Just enter your zip code to find a drop off location.

And the EPA has published ways to recycle your old cell phone, batteries and charger through a retailer at Plug-In To eCycling.

Karma may be more difficult to recycle, but there’s always offering needed help to a friend.

Some reasons to recycle

I asked some of my friends why and how they recycle, and this is how they responded:
1) I recycle because almost everything I "throw away" is recyclable and because we've trashed our planet enough already.
2) I do it because I hate waste and the idea of waste and excessively putting pressure on the environment due to landfills and the like.
3) I recycle aluminum cans at school because the money goes to our school. I recycle paper at school because I love trees and try to preserve them plus, we have a recycle bin outside for paper only.
4) I recycle when the tools are in place to make it easy.
5) I recycle because it saves me money.
6) I recycle because I like the idea of doing something to help the environment. I recycle everything I can from plastic, glass, aluminum, paper, and cardboard.
7) I recycle because it's the easiest way I can do something for the environment.
8) To me, recycling is part of being a good person. By making the simple choice to put my trash where it belongs, I am doing something for myself and everyone else too.

Truth found in Aqua Veritas

In Italy, where 40 gallons of bottled water are consumed per person per year, city officials are promoting "Aqua Veritas" (tap water or "the mayor's water") to quench a mighty thirst and stem the tide of plastic bottles, according to the New York Times. In so doing, Venetian officials say, they have "reduc[ed] the amount of plastic trash over all to 261 tons a month now from 288 tons a year ago."

Here in the U.S., which remains, the world's top consumer of bottled water--and where consumption has doubled in the last decade--we might want to take a page the Italian "libro." If we did so, we might keep the estimated 60 million plastic bottles out of landfills and incinerators that wind up there each day. If city water isn't available or to taste, there's always filtering...or taking water to work in a re-usable flask.

When we do use plastic, we need better options in the Alamo City to get it to the recycling bin. You can help by signing or spreading the word about this Sierra Club petition.

If you still drink the bottled variety, I'm like you and I'm gonna commit to change.

San Antonio Can

When it comes to the humble proposal that we can meet higher goals for recycling in San Antonio, we sometimes hear, "It'll never happen in Texas...it'll never happen in San Antonio."

When inspiration runs low, it never hurts to get perspective. Today that comes in the form of a photograph. In this picture by David Gilkey (NPR website), donkey handlers are shepherding presidential ballots across a narrow bridge to reach to remote regions of Afghanistan.

Surrmounting would-be challenges to expanding recycling here, pales in comparison. There's no doubt that if we have the will, we can get it done.