Austin Resource Recovery provides weekly curbside composting of yard trimmings combined with food scraps in the green cart. Branches must be bundled separately for monthly bulk brush pickup. Christmas trees are collected as part of curbside composting in January.
Austin Resource Recovery operates one of the most ambitious curbside composting programs in Texas. All single-family customers receive a 96-gallon green compost cart collected weekly on the same day as recycling or trash. Acceptable materials include yard trimmings — grass, leaves, weeds, flowers, small twigs — combined with food scraps, food-soiled paper, and certified-compostable bags. Cart lids must close fully; overflow is not collected. Plastic bags, pet waste, and treated lumber are prohibited. Larger branches and brush do not belong in the cart and must be set out separately for the Bulk Brush Collection that runs twice per year per service area; brush piles can be up to 15 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 5 feet high, with individual branches up to 5 inches in diameter. Christmas trees up to 6 feet may be cut down and placed in the compost cart in January. Austin's program supports the Austin Climate Equity Plan goal of zero waste by 2040.
Contaminating the compost cart with plastic or trash leads to a non-collection tag and a contamination fee on the next utility bill. Repeated violations can carry administrative penalties up to $500 under Austin City Code §15-6.
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