The city of Austin collects the second round of storm debris on March 31
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Resource Recovery (ARR), a department of the City of Austin, has begun its second pass through the city to collect storm debris from customers, according to a city news release. The latter collection should be completed within this week.
ARR is also slated to complete the final step by the end of April, the release said.
According to the city, ARR is picking up an unprecedented amount of debris from the winter storm. So far, crews have collected more than 166,000 tons of debris in more than 23,000 truckloads through March 20.
Crews typically collect about 6,000 tons of material in a year of biannual large brush collections, the city said.
Customers do not need to call 311 to request a pickup for the latest city pass, the release said. Crews are cruising all the streets and picking up debris that is properly placed on the sidewalk, the city said. Additionally, all existing 311 service requests for storm debris will be closed at the end of March, prior to final handover.
“I want to thank our customers for their patience,” said Ken Snipes, director of ARR. “There was an incredible amount of branches and twigs to be collected throughout the city, worth over 1.3 million cubic meters. This includes four routes covering northwest and southwest Austin, where crews have already collected more than 100,000 cubic feet of debris on each route.
There is a list of guidelines that ARR customers should follow as closely as possible to avoid collection delays.
The reason crews may not be able to pick up debris on a road could be:
- The stack may have been blocked by a vehicle or placed too close to a mailbox or other personal item.
- Some tracks may have been too far from the pavement or blocked by low-hanging tree limbs.
- The debris may have been mixed incorrectly with loose items, such as furniture, appliances, or fence pieces.
After April, the city said customers should contact 311 to request a special collection for storm debris. Crews will respond to 311 calls for assistance through June 30, the city said.
In addition, Austin and Travis County residents can still leave debris at Austin Water’s Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Facility, 2210 FM 973, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, says the communicated.
Additionally, the facility will also be open for drop-offs on Sunday, March 26, but will be closed on Sundays in the future, according to the city.
For more information about storm debris collection, visit austintexas.gov/stormdebris.
