Austin could be the first Texas municipality to establish composting access for residents who live in multifamily properties. Austin Resource Recovery, the city’s waste management utility, is turning its efforts to reach multifamily complexes, in which more than half of Austin’s residents live. Expanding composting access could come with some challenges, such as cost, contamination and drumming up interest for property managers and residents to participate. In a Wednesday meeting, the Zero Waste Advisory Commission talked through ideas for multifamily composting.
Residents who participated in a March 2021-February 2022 composting pilot program reported using it often and said the educational materials provided were useful. One downside survey takers shared is that the options aren’t as convenient as curbside composting, which residents of single-family homes have access to.
For property managers in areas taking part in the pilot, concerns included non-compostable material being placed in composting bins, along with the charges for composting carts. The cost fell between $0.80 and $2.95 per unit each month of collection. Jeff Payne, the co-owner of Break It Down, says the company works with about 15 multifamily properties which all see very little contamination since the cart is locked and only opened when entering a combination. “Typically, that is enough of a barrier to keep out unwanted material and not enough to prevent anyone from composting that would like to.”