 "Photo: Jeffrey McWhorter, Daily Texan Staff")
The city of Austin hopes to become the most livable city in the U.S. by reducing waste sent to landfill and incinerators by 90 percent by the year 2040.
The Solid Waste Advisory Commission met Wednesday to discuss recommendations to the Zero Waste Strategic Plan prepared by Gary Liss and Associates and presented to the commission on Oct. 1. The commission discussed 16 recommendations for the plan, including the development of zero-waste advocacy programs and strategies for curbside and commercial composting.
The commission plans to present the City Council with a list of priorities and recommendations to move forward with zero-waste goals.
According to the plan, zero waste in Austin is defined as reducing waste sent to landfills and incinerators by 20 percent by 2012, 75 percent by 2020 and 90 percent by 2040. The plan outlines methods to achieve zero waste in Austin by finding ways to prevent waste before it is created and focusing on reusing and recycling discarded materials.
“The goal of [the] zero waste [plan] is to create a sustainable system that is economically sound and environmentally sound,” said commission member J.D. Porter.
At the meeting, the commission discussed the wording and language of the recommendations and took questions and comments from the audience. Audience members who work for local and state waste disposal and recycling companies raised concerns, including the costs involved with the project.
Gerard Acuna, chairman of the commission, said the recommendations would set the framework for the city to start thinking about implementing a zero-waste plan.
“The document that is going to go to council is us saying, ‘Please consider this as an immediate starting point,’” Acuna said.
Porter said the plan would likely be modified many times.
“We need to make it clear that we’re coming back many times [to the City Council] with more recommendations,” Porter said. “This is not the end all, be all.”
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