Zero waste is a philosophy that goes beyond recycling, to focus first on reducing trash and reusing products and then recycling and composting the rest. Zero waste recognizes that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure, and everything is a resource for something or someone else.
2023 Austin Resource Recovery Comprehensive Plan
On November 2, 2023, the Austin City Council approved the adoption of the 2023 Austin Resource Recovery Comprehensive Plan. This plan is an update to the 2011 Master Plan and further guides Austin toward its goal of zero waste. In 2011, the Austin City Council adopted the zero waste goal to reduce the amount of trash sent to landfills by 90% by the year of 2040. Our work at ARR revolves around meeting this goal, while providing necessary services to keep our community clean. The 2023 Comprehensive Plan outlines the aggressive milestones to ensure that goal is achieved on time and provides information on how the department is putting plans into action to equitably support a diverse Austin.
ARR is working on a digital version of the 2023 Comprehensive Plan and will share it on this page when it’s available.