Are missed compost pickups on the rise in Austin?

David Barer
·5 min read
1

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Omar Lozano isn’t against composting, but he hasn’t bothered putting the compost bin on the curb outside his Blackland neighborhood home lately.

“I put the green bins out before, and they have not been picked up,” Lozano said. “I don’t put them out anymore.”

Lozano, who spoke to KXAN from the front steps of his house on Roger’s Avenue, is not alone.

Several residents living in or near Blackland, which is sandwiched between Manor Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard east of Interstate 35, told KXAN they’ve put their organic waste out for Friday pickup only to see the bin still full at the end of the day.

Cecelia Wehmeier – a Maldon Place resident – said she, too, has experienced missed pickups. She frequently fills her green bin with lawn clippings and food waste. It’s a tossup if the bin gets emptied any given week, she said.

“There is no set cadence,” she said. “I’m happy when it gets picked up.”

Austin 311 working to expand multilingual reach

Just down the street from Wehmeier, Adam Callaway said he’s also seen inconsistent compost pickups. When he called 311 to report the issue – the last time was a couple months ago, he said – they typically send someone to pick it up within a few days.

Trending up

City data KXAN obtained shows an upward trend citywide in the number of missed compost pickups in recent years. Officials with Austin Resource Recovery, which handles waste pickups, attributed the trend in large part to expanded service and natural disasters.

In Blackland, Resource Recovery said there was a switch to an automated-style truck that only picks up one side of the street at a time. That could cause people to think they’ve been skipped, when their side of the street hasn’t been cleaned yet.

The Blackland neighborhood area is also one that “typically has a high percentage of contaminants in the carts (items placed in incorrect carts) and carts that are blocked by obstacles that may prevent collection,” according to the department.

Resource Recovery said there have been 89 calls for missed pickups in the Blackland area since last October, or about four per week.

But KXAN found that gauging missed compost pickups by the number of 311 calls isn’t perfect, since some residents may not call for every single missed pickup. Some don’t call at all.

Wehmeier, for example, acknowledged she hasn’t called 311 to report the issue.

Generally, though, the city’s data do show a rising trend in the number of those calls to 311 in the past couple years.

Since 2018, Austin Resource Recovery has received nearly 62,000 calls from across the city for missed compost pickups, according to 311 data.

In nearly every month of 2023, the city received 1,000 or more requests related to missed compost pickups. In previous years, the monthly range was generally lower, excluding outliers in March of 2021 and 2023 – months that followed destructive winter storms that inundated Resource Recovery with requests for help. In March of 2021 alone there were over 4,500 requests for missed organic pickups. Two years later, in March 2023, there were over 2,000 requests, according to city data.

Winter storm debris complaints top list of Austin 311 calls

Those disasters had a “huge” impact on all Resource Recovery operations with delays and disruptions, according to the city.

Resource Recovery said the number of missed pickups has increased over the years for several reasons. Foremost, the department added the final 55,000 customers in 2021 after expanding the service. The city has about 215,000 total compost curbside customers now.

See the zip codes with the most missed compost reports to 311 below:

Frustration with reporting

KXAN began investigating compost pickup issues in east Austin after receiving an emailed tip from a resident named Eva who said she and her neighbors were struggling to get consistent service.

Eva, who asked that her last name not be used due to privacy concerns, said she had become particularly frustrated with 311’s handling of her requests for help.

This story came from a ReportIt story tip. Send your own story ideas to Reportit@kxan.com or through KXAN’s contact page.

She tried reporting missed pickups for neighbors but was told she could only report her own. The neighbors would have to make their own calls.

“The complaint infrastructure doesn’t work,” Eva told KXAN. “I’m only allowed to report my missed pickup. I can’t call on behalf of my elderly neighbor. There is no way to report a missed pickup for a neighborhood or a street.”

Austin 311 confirmed residents can only call for their own missed pickups.

“While we understand how it could be frustrating for customers to only be able to report their own missed collection, this is because there could be a charge associated with the request,” the department said in a statement.

The city may charge for a pickup if the missed service was caused by an improper set out.

Common reasons for missed compost pickups

The city outlined a number of reasons compost may not be picked up:

  • Bin set out later than 5:30 a.m.

  • Items placed in the wrong cart

  • Bins overflowing with lids not fully closed

  • More than 15 extra items set out

  • Carts too close to property, cars, overhanging tree limbs or directly under power lines

The city also acknowledged crews could simply miss a house or street. There could also be weather delays or a route could be so heavy with material that crews need to return the next day.

Improving service

The city said it is focused on minimizing missed pickups by installing better in-vehicle routing technology, providing up-to-date information to customers on route delays and consistently monitoring trends in missed pickup calls.

Residents can call 311 to request help with a missed pickup or send a message through this online portal.

The city has specific rules for compost, organic and lawn trimming waste. When residents don’t follow those rules, the city might not empty the bins or pick the items up. The city also suggests customers:

  • Place composting bins on the curb by 5:30 a.m. on your pickup day, which can be found here.

  • Setting Trash, recycling and compost containers at least 5 feet apart.

  • Realize the City will collect up to 15 additional items with green waste, such as lawn and leaf bags or reusable containers under 34 gallons and 50 lbs.

Read the city’s comprehensive guide to composting here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.