Posted on 10/03/2018 8:33:54 AM PDT by Red Badger
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Starting Monday, Austin restaurants and food businesses have to come up with alternatives to tossing extra food in the trash.
The city hopes businesses donate the extra food to those in need, but they could also give it to local farms or compost it. It's part of the Universal Recycling Ordinance, which the city hopes will help reach its Zero Waste by 2040 goal.
A 2015 study analyzing what's in Austin's trash and where it comes from showed 37 percent of material sent to landfills from businesses was organic and could have been donated or composted.
That study was used to inform the ordinance and other steps the city has taken, including opening up individual composting options.
The ordinance also requires business owners to educate employees regularly, have informational signs about the effort and submit an online Organic Diversion Plan each year. The city is offering guidance and training for businesses as they transition, including two events listed below:
Oct. 22 from 2-3 p.m. County Line on the Lake 5204 FM 2222 Oct. 30 from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar 1120 S. Lamar Blvd.
“The City is committed to helping companies, large and small, find cost-effective solutions and establish diversion programs to ensure food and other organics are put to best use while meeting ordinance requirements,” said Sam Angoori, the interim director of Austin Resource Recovery
Sending it to starving children in China?
Hmmmm.... Food sent to a landfill is, actually, composted....so it seems that would fulfill the mandate.
No because the landfills are operated by large corporations. It has to go to an organic farm where the cows are lovingly hand fed grape leaves and kale in between yoga sessions and therapeutic massages.
That sounds like a bunch of California busybodies must have moved across the country, just to dip their beaks in events for private businesses.
One cannot always mandate that sort of outcome.
Instead of demanding conformity of behavior, why not add an incentive to donate? Tax breaks, utility discounts, discounts on bulk food purchases.
It’s not necessary or practical to go round cracking the whips of unenforceable legislation.
Declare themselves to be outside of Austin, if they’re on/near the edge?
Absurd.
The food is MINE. What right does the city have to tell me what to do with my property—especially my short-lived, disposable and garbage-destined property??
Someone is going to make money off of this stupid regulation. I bet it is some brother-in-law of a city commissioner who just HAPPENS to be in the “I can take that off your hands” business.
In the city of Austin, you have a trash can, a recycling can and a composting can. The city picks them up every week.
We have separate recycling and household garbage cans.
We put glass, plastic and metal cans and junk in the one and regular trash in the other.
We just learned that the market for recyclables is not buying right now so they ALL GO TO THE LANDFILL................
At the end of the week, bag it all up and send it to the homes of city council members that dreamed it up.
Every week.
They can then decide ... “where to put it” ...
Soon the only restaurants available will be chains owned by large corporations who have the capital to cope with these increasing government regulations—as is happening in California.
Buy a goat.
A fat goat.
Hope for in one hand, squat over the other hand. Wait and see the first arrival.
That’s the objective..................
Dump it all on the city hall steps fellow babies, this was Dr. Johnny Fever at the mighty WKRP music machine.
I used to cringe at the perceived waste associated with all you can eat buffets. Not only do people take more than they can eat, but the buffet itself ends with half-full bins of food. Seemed a lot of waste.
Then I read an article explaining that all the uneaten food, from both customer plates and buffet trays, is gathered together and auctioned to local pig farmers.
Every night, drop it off at City Hall in large, plastic bags.
Composting is fine for veggies, but not for meats and dishes containing meat.
Donate it.....now that is a brilliant idea (/s)...say, send it to Bastrop where they can dispose of it in their landfill??!!! Or, we’ll have food Nazi’s tell us we HAVE to take our scraps home in a doggy bag and dispose of them due to ruling!!!!
We loved our quarter decade in and around Austin. BUT, SO GLAD we are out of there and the mound of stupid regulations they keep on passing and taxes keep rising when people change to save water, electric and now garbage.
It is so lovely to be building a home and ALL that we need government to do is approve our septic and well. That’s IT!
Wondering if small businesses can appeal to the state and or courts for relief?
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