AUSTIN, TEXAS – Late Friday afternoon on January 24, Austin Resource Recovery (ARR) staff noticed an error in the automated customer notification system. This system is designed to identify when customers need to be notified of their approaching bi-annual bulk and large brush collections through postcard distribution. These collection dates are selected based on geographic routes that are created to maximize vehicle driving efficiency.
 
The error occurred after a new scheduling tool was implemented. This resulted in 6,000 Austin Resource Recovery customers being incorrectly selected from across the City to receive notifications for February pickups. ARR Direct Ken Snipes states, “We are looking into what caused the error to occur in order to prevent this from happening in the future. In the meantime, we are notifying the customers who received postcard notifications by mistake.”
 
ARR is working quickly to send notification postcards to the erroneously selected customers asking them to not set out their large brush and bulky items for pick up until their correctly scheduled time. For anyone that received a postcard and would like to verify their pickup date, visit austintexas.gov/myschedule and type in your address or call 3-1-1.
 

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About Austin Resource Recovery
Austin Resource Recovery provides a wide range of services designed to transform waste into resources while keeping our community clean. Services include curbside collection of recycling, trash, yard trimmings and large brush and bulk items; street sweeping; dead animal collection; household hazardous waste disposal and recycling; and outreach and education. Austin Resource Recovery offers free, voluntary, and confidential consulting services to help Austin businesses reduce waste and comply with the City’s recycling ordinances. In December 2011, the Austin City Council approved the Austin Resource Recovery Master Plan, which is the City’s roadmap to Zero Waste. The City of Austin is committed to reducing the amount of waste sent to area landfills by 90 percent by 2040. Learn more at austinrecycles.com.