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ARR outlines Circular Economy programs: business support, reuse campaigns, and facility policy work
Summary
Austin Resource Recovery staff detailed a three-pillar Circular Economy program that supports circular businesses, encourages reuse among residents, and implements city facility standards; the presentation highlighted accelerator and showcase programs, directory listings, and initial compliance metrics for the new 0 Waste facilities procedure.
Maddie Morgan, the Circular Economy Program Manager at Austin Resource Recovery, described a multi-pronged effort to keep materials in productive use longer and to reduce problematic plastics under the city's climate and equity goals.
"We want to keep materials at their highest and best use for as long as possible," Morgan said, explaining the program's three pillars: supporting circular businesses, encouraging resident behavior change, and leading by example in city operations.
Key initiatives and metrics she highlighted include:
• Circular Showcase and Circular Accelerator: an annual pitch competition (Circular Showcase) with a $10,000 cash prize and a three-month Circular Accelerator program that culminates in a smaller $2,000 award for top participants; application windows were open at the time of the meeting.
• Austin ReUse directory: an online resource with more than 500 listings for donation, repair, rental and reuse services plus a community events calendar.
• Move Out ATX and Fix It Austin: seasonal and ongoing reuse and repair programs that have diverted material and provided community support; Move Out ATX and a free furniture market have moved hundreds of furniture pieces and an estimated $600,000 in economic value to date.
• City operations: the recently passed 0 Waste city facilities procedure sets minimum standards for containers and employee-facing areas across roughly 200 facilities; ARR staff reported an estimated 35% compliance rate so far and said they're conducting site-assist assessments and training for facility leads.
Commissioners asked about public-facing lists of participating businesses and whether the reuse directory could integrate with the Austin Recycles app; Morgan said a story map with about 40 featured businesses exists online and that ARR maintains an internal CRM for tracking participants, but the CRM is not public.
What happens next: Morgan encouraged commissioners to share outreach opportunities and said the program will continue to refine public tools and partner with library and other departments to scale workshops and training.
