Curbside recycling collection expanded in Austin, Texas

The city now is accepting food and beverage cartons and coated paper products in curbside bins.

a blue recycling bin overflowing with paper coffee cups
The city of Austin, Texas, now is accepting food and beverage cartons and coated paper products in curbside bins.
© mipan | stock.adobe.com

Residents in Austin, Texas, now can recycle food and beverage cartons and coated paper products in their curbside bins.

Cartons, or aseptic or gable top containers, as well as coated paper products like cups, plates and takeout food containers, now are being accepted, and the city says recycling these products will help reduce the amount of material being landfilled, support a circular economy and reduce Austin’s environmental footprint.

 “We’re excited to offer carton and paper cup recycling to all our customers,” Austin Resource Recovery Director Richard McHale says. “Our goal is to reach zero waste by 2040, and adding these materials helps us take a step closer to that goal. Recycling these items is simple.”

In November 2023, Austin City Council approved the 2023 Austin Resource Recovery Comprehensive Plan, an update to the city’s 2011 Master Plan aimed at achieving zero waste in Austin while enhancing services provided to residents. The goal was to divert 90 percent of material from landfill by 2040.

According to officials, results of the projects and programs from the 2011 plan boosted Austin’s recycling levels 36 percent higher than the national average while organic material diversion reached more than 20,000 tons per year.

“Austin is a beautiful city that is known globally for its green spaces, trails, water and clean air,” McHale says in the updated plan. “As it grows and evolves, we must seek, embrace and deploy the necessary tools to protect our precious city. The city of Austin’s Zero Waste goal is a tool that will guide our future decisions as we work to protect people and our planet for generations to come.”