Renews Issue 01 | 2018

FY2018 | ISSUE 1

A Chat with Richard ARR’s Newest Asst. Director

Road Safety

Slow Down to Get Around

Fleet Upgrade Tech Smarter Curbside Collection

Road to Zero

Food: Too Good to Waste

PICTURED: ARR Hurricane Harvey Disaster Aid Crew

CONTENTS DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE PAGE 1 A message from Interim Director Sam Angoori

GETTING TO KNOW RICHARD MCHALE An interview with ARR’s new assistant director

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SAFETY SPOT PAGE 4 Slow Down to Get Around

WHAT THE VFTU? PAGE 6 Technology upgrade means smarter curbside collection

IN THE AFTERMATH OF HARVEY PAGE 8 An interview with Hurricane Harvey clean up participants

ROAD TO ZERO PAGE 9 Food: too good to waste

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AIMING HIGHER AWARDS PAGE 10 Individuals who shoot for the stars

HR CORNER PAGE 13 Employee milestones of 2017

Photos from events

Supervisor Academy July 2017 Graduates

Veteran’s Day Parade Published July 2017

Feeding the 5,000

Pit crew cooking up deliciousness at ARR employee BBQ

National Forum for Black Public Administrators

Director’s Message: Happy new year

BY SAM ANGOORI, PE Austin Resource Recovery Interim Director

My very best wishes and sincere thanks to all of you as we wrap up an eventful 2017. The past 12 months have been marked by noteworthy events, achievements and the Department’s response to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. I want to take this opportunity to let you all know that it is an honor to serve as your Interim Director.

Each of you play an important role in serving our customers and propelling Austin Resource Recovery forward in our mission to achieve Zero Waste.

Last year we saw many instances of our department’s outstanding national reputation as we led the way on many fronts. A small number of the 2017 milestones include: • Received the National Community Improvement Award from Keep America Beautiful for the Austin Recycles Games, the popular citywide recycling competition between Austin’s 10 City Council districts;

that otherwise would have been wasted; • Held the second annual [Re]Verse Pitch Competition, a one-of-a-kind social innovation program turning valuable business discards into the foundation of new social enterprises; • Expanded the new curbside composting program to an additional 38,000 City of Austin customers; • Produced (via ATXN) an Emmy-winning video series about ReUse and Shopping Zero waste; • Kick started the pilot of the Vehicle Fleet Technology Upgrade, which will allow ARR to gather additional route information on seven vehicles; • Presented ARR service information, recycling and composting education to more than 35,000 Austinites at almost 100 community outreach and educational events.

ARR is an amazing place to work, grow and contribute. Let’s take a moment to celebrate our successes, savor our accomplishments and look forward to new opportunities in 2018.

• Completed a comprehensive research project with Austinites about why, how and what they compost and recycle; • Re-introduced the Zero Waste Block Leader program.

Currently, we have more than 200 volunteers who regularly educate thousands of neighbors about our department, programs and services, focusing on recycling and composting; • Launched extremely popular Chicken Keeping Classes, a successful new program to help Austinites reduce the amount of food waste going into landfills; • Provided free soil testing at ARR’s annual Soil Kitchen event, which helped more than 400 urban gardeners learn about Brownfields and safe food gardening; • Achieved industry-wide recognition as ARR operators demonstrated their skills and safe practices at the national Road-E-O championships; • Received two Brownfield Revitalization grants from the Environmental Protection Agency totaling $300,000 to fund site assessments and create contamination clean up plans; • Hosted Feeding The 5000, the first food waste awareness event of its kind in Texas where ARR and partners served more than 3,000 free meals made entirely from ingredients

Curbside composting expansion cart delivery.

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Getting to know Richard Mchale An Interview with arr’s new Assistant Director

BY MEMI CÁRDENAS Public Information Specialist Senior This interview was not the first time I had been in Richard McHale’s office, but I have always been curious about the Oscar the Grouch memorabilia. From stuffed animals to posters, that little green monster and his trash can are everywhere. “My wife says I’m grouchy and I work in trash,” he said to me, “so Oscar the Grouch became my mascot.” Richard describes himself as an introvert who prefers to work independently and I can see that, but I have yet to see his “grouchy” side. Let’s get to know him a little more.

Memi: What are your top three priorities as assistant director?

Richard: My first priority is the safety of our employees. I’ve been in this department a long time and I’ve seen the unfortunate occasions when we have responded to fatalities of our own employees. I feel that the safety of our employees is paramount to anything else.

Second, I plan to assist the department to get to where we need to be in reaching our Zero Waste goal. We’re a little behind right now so that will be one of the things I will look at from an operations standpoint. I think our benchmarks are attainable, but at what cost? As we revise the Master Plan we do need to add some additional metrics, as far as our goals, because our trash is constantly changing. A ton of recyclables ten years ago was a totally different composite mixture of materials than what it is today. The material is lighter now. We are almost working against ourselves by trying to measure what we are putting in the landfill and really we should be focusing on not generating waste in the first place.

Finally, I want to help install a culture of good customer service for our employees and how they treat our customers. All of our field employees and our office staff interact with the public. Using the customer satisfaction surveys that we’ve done as a baseline and continuing with the formal training that we’ve done in the last year, our goal is to improve our customer service rating.

Memi: How does your new role as assistant director differ from your previous role as division manager?

Richard: I find that I am less involved in the day-to-day operations and what happens inside the department. My attention is more focused towards what is happening externally in other departments with their stakeholders. That’s been the biggest change for me, sometimes I feel like I am out of touch because I used to be doing day-to-day operations daily. Now I still try to catch up on those things, but more and more I find myself dragged away to do policy work.

Memi: Do you miss that daily interaction with staff?

Richard: I do, I do. It was actually nice to get to go to Houston for the Hurricane Harvey clean up, because I was out there working on the truck and not having to deal with the politics.

Memi: What do you think are currently ARR’s biggest challenges?

Richard: The biggest challenge for our department is getting to our Zero Waste goal while still meeting the City’s priorities like affordability.

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Memi: Do you think we’ll get to the point where we will start fining our customers for not properly sorting recyclables (i.e., contamination)?

Richard: You would hope it doesn’t have to get to that point but if the community wants to reach those goals it might be the way that it is ultimately done. I don’t know that it’s the right way to do it. We have a pretty good population base that pretty much does the right thing, so I think it’s a matter of getting some of the materials that are currently going in the trash and getting them back in the recycling containers.

Weekly recycling pickup might be what will help do that.

Memi: What do you think are ARR’s biggest strengths?

Richard: Our employees. I know Tammie said that too but I believe our employees are our biggest asset. We have some really great employees out there that provide some excellent customer service.

We get calls from citizens that are just amazed. It’s that type of work ethic and attitude that reflects positively on the department and the City. Those are the folks that are going to be leading the department in the next five to 10 years. We have a lot of quality employees here, so many to the point that we don’t have to advertise externally for promotions. We do that for entry level positions to get new people, but most of our other positions we just post internally because we already have the employees that are capable of those skills. I think we’re lucky to have those folks.

Memi: How long have you been with ARR and the City?

Richard: In April I will have been with ARR and the City for 25 years.

When I came in we were part of Public Works, then we became part of the Environmental Conservation Services Department. After that we became our own department, Solid Waste Services and then we morphed into Austin Resource Recovery.

‟WE HAVE SOME REALLY GREAT EMPLOYEES OUT THERE THAT PROVIDE SOME EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE. WE GET CALLS FROM CITIZENS THAT ARE JUST AMAZED.” Memi: Tell me about the different positions you’ve had throughout your career with the City.

Richard: When I started we had a landfill and I was out there as an environmental quality specialist. I worked there for the first five years of my City career. I was in graduate school at the time and had just taken a solid waste class but what I really wanted to get into was environmental. I wanted something a little more glamorous like water or air, so trash wasn’t even really on the radar but the job at the City came open and it was for the landfill and I thought, “Well I’ll just apply and get my foot in the door and move on to something fun.” I got the job and after about a year or so I really started enjoying it and learning a lot. There was a lot more to it than I had initially thought.

I thought of garbage as, you pick it up, throw it away and you’re done. I really started getting into the dynamics of it. The trucks would come in from different parts of town and after a while I could tell what part of town that truck would be coming from so it was interesting. I have had a lot of opportunities to move into different positions. We opened up a materials recovery facility and so I kind of got that started and ran that for about five years. After that I went to Litter Abatement as the assistant division manager for about two years and after that a position became open over garbage and recycling collection so I moved into that position for about five years. After that I was over Operational Support and then I was asked to come back over to Litter Abatement as a division manager because the DM had just retired and now I’ve been here since around 2015.

Memi: What might employees be surprised to learn about you?

Richard: I am the father of triplet, almost 14-year-old girls. First we were told they were twins. That was shocking in itself and then the next ultrasound is when they dropped the bomb that we were having triplets.

Memi: What had been the most fulfilling part of having triplet girls?

Richard: The most fulfilling part is that I get to relive my childhood again, because I am very immature. I would enjoy watching iCarly and cartoons with them, those shows are funny, I crack up! I would be like “girls it’s on, come watch it” and they would be in their room studying. That has been fun for me.

Memi: What has been your favorite role throughout your career and why?

Richard: Probably the one I’m in now because I think I’m more able to affect positive change, not only on the department and staff but also some of the policies that we deal with on a regular basis. Also, it obviously gives me a whole lot of new challenges, stuff that I hadn’t thought of before, stuff that I’m learning now and meeting new people. In that sense this is definitely the best role so far.

Memi: What has been your proudest moment in your career?

Richard: When I see employees that used to work for me get promoted into higher-level positions. When I was at the landfill there was an admin out there that was going to school at the time and I was her supervisor for a few years. She too has stuck with the City and now she’s in a high-level position at the municipal court. It’s good to see that.

Memi: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Richard: I wanted to be a naval aviator but, unfortunately, I was cursed with poor eyesight. I was told I could be a navigator but that wasn’t the same thing so I said “nah.”

Memi: What drew you to naval aviation?

Richard: I was always interested in military type things and I want to say, maybe Top Gun had come out, so I’m sure that had some impact on me as a young adult.

Memi: Are you more of a Goose or a Maverick?

Richard: Probably more of a Goose.

Memi: How do you think this role fits into those childhood aspirations?

Richard: Not at all besides that they’re both government work.

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Safety spot

Slow down to get around

BY DANA BLINDERT Occupational Health and Safety Coordinator As part of our continued effort to promote safety within the department, we have added decals to our trucks to promote the nationwide Slow Down to Get Around campaign, an industry-wide safety campaign from the National Waste & Recycling Association. This campaign was created to educate the public on their role in reducing fatalities, accidents and injuries involving waste management and recycling employees. In the last three years alone, 38 percent of the accidents involving an Austin Resource Recovery vehicle were caused by citizen actions and 25 percent of all collisions were due to the citizen striking the vehicle from the rear or when attempting to get around our trucks.

precautions when working outside of the truck: be more aware of your surroundings, and follow policies and procedures like the 30-foot rule. The 30-foot rule prohibits employees from crossing a street or collecting from both sides of the street when the width of the street is 30 feet or greater. By bringing awareness to the public and increasing our own safety efforts, we hope to work together to make the streets safer for everyone.

Just last year, Recycling Division employee Anthony Rodriguez was struck by a vehicle when he was on the road collecting a recycling cart. “A car that had been waiting maybe three or four minutes, suddenly floored it and hit me. Then they drove off. I was out of work for a while and that kind of hit me hard financially.

I had a newborn at the time, and it was hard to even watch my own son because of it. We still have cars that do that all the time; you have to jump out of the way,” said Rodriguez.

Anthony is just one of many of our operations staff that have stories to tell about times when they have been hurt on the job, or had near misses. With this in mind, we are asking Austin residents to remember to yield when approaching recycling and waste management vehicles, to be alert to potential collection employees working on the street and to drive slowly when going around the vehicle. Remember to Slow Down to Get Around.

The Slow Down to Get Around safety campaign is one way that ARR is working to address the many dangers that recycling and waste management employees are encountering every day on the job. Some of the other safety initiatives for FY18 include: • Tailgate meetings every morning to address safety concerns as they come up • Guest speakers for monthly safety meetings to teach us about a variety of safety concerns in the field and in the workplace • Citywide campaign efforts such as the Vision Zero Hero initiative, Driver’s Safety Program and Driver Improvement Plans • The Fleetmind Solutions software as part of the Vehicle Fleet Technology Upgrade pilot program • Implementing a comprehensive safety database to be able to further trend these types of accidents and determine appropriate corrective and preventative measures to eliminate incidents like this.

Our employees can help to promote the Slow Down to Get Around campaign by talking with their friends, family and community about the dangers of the work they are doing every day and how they can help. While on the job, remember to take extra 4

Anthony Rodriguez was struck by a civilian vehicle while on route last year.

What the VFTU?

curbside collection just got smarter

BY JORGE ORTEGA Marketing Representative We have smart phones, smart TVs, smart homes and coming soon; smart curbside collection. Austin Resource Recovery’s trucks are getting smarter, thanks to a partnership with “smart truck” industry leader, FleetMind Solutions, Inc. After nearly five years in development, the Vehicle Fleet Technology Upgrade (VFTU) entered a two-phase pilot in October 2017. The upgrade will outfit ARR’s collection and supervisor vehicles with touch screens, onboard collection control equipment and integrated radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology that will offer many day-to-day improvements for our staff.

“We currently have seven trucks that we are piloting on the Vehicle Fleet Technology Upgrade,” said Ron Romero, Division Manager over Collections. “In these trucks, there is a button where the driver can identify things like contamination. They’ll be able to hit a button, detail it then we’ll be able to run reports with that information.”

With the press of a button, operators can use the vehicle cameras to photograph contaminated carts. The photos and data can then be used to help educate customers, in an effort to prevent continued contamination.

Identifying contamination is not all this new tech can do. The VFTU will streamline manual processes such as paper inspection sheets, tagging damaged carts, logging miles traveled and identifying missed cart collections.

“Drivers will be able to stay in their vehicles and quickly identify issues in the field,” said Mike Turner, Division Manager for Quality Assurance. “We hope this new system makes things much easier and safer for our operators.”

Another key feature of the VFTU is collecting and displaying information in real-time. Data can be used to more easily plan, navigate and complete routes. If something prevents an operator from completing a route, we’ll know exactly which customers still need to be serviced and nearby operators will be notified to complete that route. Supervisors that have the FleetMind tech in their

‟WE HOPE THIS NEW SYSTEM MAKES THINGS MUCH EASIER AND SAFER” support vehicle will be able to make more proactive decisions in the field when rerouting drivers to cover areas.

The goal for the Vehicle Fleet Technology Upgrade is to provide more visibility to what Austin Resource Recovery is doing in the field, so that we can increase route efficiency. Fewer miles traveled means reduced exposure to risks for our staff and residents, while helping to reduce ARR’s carbon footprint. The VFTU is expected to expand to twenty vehicles in January and be operating fleet-wide later in 2018.

Questions about VFTU? Contact Mike Turner at (512) 974-9739.

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In the aftermath of Harvey An interview with the Hurricane Harvey clean up crew

BY ASHLEY PACE Public Information Specialist

Interview Participants: David Fuentes Adam Valdez Aaron Green Kevin Vizcaino Ben Garza

Hugo Elizalde Dario Thomas Raymond Selby John M. Trevino Jose Salas

In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, Houston called on all surrounding Texas cities for help in cleaning up the tons of debris that resulted from the storm. Austin, along with San Antonio and Dallas, answered the call, rolling out cranes, dump trucks, roll-off trucks and collection trucks, along with as many employees as could be spared. Thousands of people were affected by the storm in some way, but as I sat down to talk with a group of the employees who were offered the opportunity to lend their assistance, I gained a better understanding of the gravity of what it was like to view the destruction of the storm up close.

Ashley: Tell me what it was like when you first saw the destruction that Hurricane Harvey caused.

John: It was heartbreaking. When we first got there, it was crazy. The streets are small over there, there are no sidewalks and people had their whole front yards full of stuff. It was like the entire inside of the house was on the outside.

Aaron: That first time, it was overwhelming [agreement all around].

Adam: That was my first time seeing a disaster and to be able to really take part, it made me realize just how much [a storm] can take away from people.

Kevin: Yeah, it put some perspective on just how much a storm can affect you and that you never expect it. When I first saw the streets, and how much there was to pick up, I was thinking, “Oh man! I am going to be here all day!”

Ashley: What did you do the first day?

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Kevin: That first day, we did two streets. That was it all day, and we weren’t even done with the entire street when we left.

John: We picked up 171 tons in one day. That was a new record.

David: And it wasn’t just our division that did it, it was trash and recycling too. We all came together and did the work; that was how we were able to accomplish what we did. We picked up everything, we didn’t leave anything behind. I even asked people if they had trash in their house, to bring it out, we will take that too.

Ashley: So you talked to some of the people you were helping?

Was there anyone you specifically remember?

David: There was one lady that could barely walk, but she was out there thanking everybody. It made me feel so fortunate to be there because you see somebody who just lost all of their valuables and that has to start over, but there they are out there to thank you for just doing your job.

John: She had a son that was disabled and was in a wheelchair. He was recording me as I was picking up their stuff on the crane. I knew that it hurt him, deep inside, to see that. So when I was done, I made sure I went down there and talked to him. He told me about how the water was only a foot off the ground, but that he and his mom are both disabled, so the boat came for them and picked them up. They were one of the only families on that street that got rescued and they were just so thankful. That had a big impact on me.

David: Yeah, we were going through these piles by hand and you’d see pictures; these people’s memories, their kid’s stuff. You had to pull yourself out of that to look on the bright side and see what a blessing it was that no one got hurt. It felt good to know that we were doing something right, something that helped in a small way. For them just to say thank you was enough.

Ashley: Tell me more about how people reacted to seeing you.

What did they do?

Aaron: The people were so excited to see other cities coming in and helping out. They were so grateful for the help that they were getting and were being so patient about everything. It was a beautiful thing to see.

Adam: And what I liked most was working with the other cities’ sanitary divisions. We all worked together as a team. They were all very outgoing people and welcomed us with open arms, praising us every time we were there and thanking us for helping. Everything was just open. That was big for me.

Ben: I think that the mechanics (Onecimo Rocha, Rene Regalado, David Jones, Ray McNeil) should get recognized too for the support they gave us so we could do our jobs. They did all the pre-trips and post trips every day. They were out there with us, even when it was raining really hard, making sure we were safe in traffic and even picking up with us. They went above and beyond and I think they deserve a shout out for sure.

Thank you to all those that contributed toward the clean up efforts after Hurricane Harvey.

Ashley: Did you notice a big difference between your first visit and your last visit? What changes did you see in the areas you were going to?

Kevin: You learn to go in not expecting anything, just knowing that you are going to pick up everything you can.

David: Yeah, the Fifth Ward, that is a high poverty area. There were some homes with no doors on them and were really bad. The kids weren’t able to even walk around.

John: And the sad thing about that is, the first time we went down there, we weren’t in those neighborhoods that needed us most. By the time we got to them, it’d been six or seven weeks and the stuff we are picking up is stinky and moldy and full of rats. All that time it was just sitting there, getting worse. It’s not even trash anymore, it’s just nasty mold and all that.

Adam: Everybody needed help, but to help out the ones that were less fortunate was my opportunity to give back. It was a privilege that we got picked to go [to Houston].

Ashley: Can you tell me more about how you all felt after being a part of the clean up crew?

Jose: It made me feel proud [agreement all around].

John: Just to be able to help out was good. I mean, just a wave and a ‘thank you’ from those people was real touching. It felt good.

Aaron: I was glad to go down there and do my part. It was an experience to see what I saw. It made me realize, ‘where would we be?’

Without us, where would Austin be? I feel like I appreciate more the impact I make on Austin because I went to Houston and because I saw the destruction there.

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Road to zero

Food: too good to waste

BY SELENE CASTILLO Planner On October 19, 2017, Austin Resource Recovery hosted a community event called Feeding the 5000 Austin to increase awareness around food waste and share ways individuals and businesses can do their part to reduce the amount of food that ends up in landfills.

Austin Resource Recovery worked with the Central Texas Food Bank, Keep Austin Fed and the New Leaders Council’s Austin Chapter to serve a free lunch made entirely from food that would have otherwise been thrown away. With the culinary expertise of local chefs from The Bonneville and the Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, over 3,000 pounds of food destined for the landfill, instead became a nutritious meal for thousands of people.

Some grocery stores donate surplus food to community organizations to feed people, but not all, because of concerns about food safety violations.

Why talk about food waste?

For our customers, ARR recently expanded the curbside composting pilot from 14,000 to 52,000 households. The program will continue to grow annually, aiming to reach all curbside customers by 2020.

Residents are also encouraged to take advantage of ARR’s $75 rebate, which is available to use toward the purchase of a backyard composting system or a chicken coop.

On average, 40 percent of material in U.S. landfills is made up of organic materials like food waste and yard trimmings. ARR’s 2015 Community Diversion Study shows Austin close to that figure, with 37 percent of Austin’s trash made up of organic material. Seeing this much wasted food in area landfills raises concerns about our food choices and distribution. It also means that valuable resources like water, energy and labor, which are needed to raise, grow and produce the food we eat are also going to waste. While not all food going to the landfill is edible, the food that can be “rescued” could help address food insecurity in our community. Currently, one in. six Travis County residents does not know where their next meal is coming from.

Why is so much food ending up in the landfill?

Food waste occurs at every step of the food system – from farm to home. When you’re grocery shopping, do you reach for the milk at the back of the refrigerator with the longest expiration date? Do you pick through produce to avoid any bruised or ugly fruit? If you’re nodding your head, don’t worry, you’re not alone.

Most grocery stores only stock their shelves with food that is aesthetically pleasing and provide plenty of options to serve that mindset.

While it makes sense that a business caters to its customers, this system comes at a high price in terms of wasted food. Food is removed from the shelves for many reasons: new food shipments, lack of storage, expiration dates (which are not regulated), appearance, etc.

Now, if you think about all the other businesses in town that handle food, besides grocery stores, you can see how the list of reasons for wasted food may be endless.

How is ARR helping with the issue?

ARR is implementing several programs and policies in an effort to minimize the amount of food our residents and businesses send to the landfill.

For Austin’s businesses, the Universal Recycling Ordinance requires that food-permitted businesses have a program in place to reduce the organic material going to landfills. The Ordinance is being phased in and by October 2018, all food businesses will be affected. ARR’s Business Outreach Team helps businesses find the most effective and cost-efficient solutions to address food waste in their operations and practices. For instance, if a business has surplus food that can be donated, staff shares food donation guidelines, federal liability protection from lawsuits and tax deduction resources.

What can you do at home?

Using the food that you buy is the best way to help reduce food waste. Here are some tips to make that happen: • Make a grocery list at home (and stick to it!) to avoid buying more than you need.

• Put groceries that are close to their end of life into an “Eat me first” bin.

• Freeze extra ripe fruit, like bananas and strawberries, to use in smoothies later.

• Don’t be afraid to buy misshapen fruits and vegetables - the quality is just as good.

• Host leftover parties and invite friends over to share your leftovers and theirs.

• Plan how much food is needed for dinner parties using available tools and tips (savethefood.com/guestimator).

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AIMING HIGHER

AWARDS Aiming Higher Awards are presented to individuals who shoot for the stars, whether through one exceptional action or by regularly going above and beyond.

teresa Chapman

Teresa was scheduled to volunteer at a composting class on a weekend. At the last minute, the class instructor called to inform us she was not going to make it. Teresa then set up the entire event by herself, got everyone checked in and taught the class on her own.

Thanks to Teresa’s knowledge and willingness to step up, the class went off without a hitch.

James Howard

James Howard has been called upon more than once to assist with various tasks outside the scope of his role at the RRDOC. Using his background in computer science, he has helped to develop the form that the gate house uses on a daily basis. He also regularly comes to the aid of the gate house staff when they are having trouble with their computers.

Dana Blindert and Jaime Moreno Jaime and Dana noticed that the new carts being delivered by our vendor were stacked upright. Because of this, water was accumulating in the upright carts and standing water was attracting mosquitoes. With concerns of the Zika virus on the forefront, Dana and Jaime acted quickly to make sure the current carts and any delivered in the future, were stacked upside down when being assembled and delivered by the vendor.

Cory Gaspard

Cory is a natural leader with impeccable communication skills. He comes to work every day with a positive attitude and ready to work. With his support, his crew has a safe, successful and efficient work week.

Stephanie Hollanders

When ARR employees were deployed to Houston to assist with the Hurricane Harvey debris clean up, Stephanie quickly stepped in to ensure that travel advance checks were distributed to the attending employees as early as possible. Having the cash on hand to purchase their meals was essential to the success of their mission.

Nicholas Hosteng

Nick consistently goes above and beyond his regularly assigned duties. He helps the landfill with weekly regulatory compliance requirements and is always willing to step in to lead the team if a crew leader is unavailable.

Larry middleton

HHW was loading rechargeable batteries onto an 18-wheeler when the pallet under one of the loads broke, spilling boxes of batteries onto the ground.

Larry volunteered to stay after his shift and reload the boxes of batteries onto a new pallet.

He also made the suggestion to use a daisy chain to make loading the pallet both safer and faster.

David Calderon and Javier Martintez For the last two years, David Calderon and Javier Martinez have gone above and beyond with one of their special service program pickups. They talk with the customer and have built a great rapport with him. He was especially thankful for their help with his brush pickup after his double bypass surgery.

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Dana Blindert

Dana is recognized for the time and dedication she has put into the Slow Down to Get Around safety campaign efforts. The campaign has required coordination with operations to make sure every vehicle gets one of the decals placed on it. Dana has done an amazing job making sure to schedule times that work for everyone.

Ruby Fuentes

Ruby is a model employee!

She always has a positive attitude, encourages her team, gets to work early and is willing to work late or on weekends to help out. She has excellent communication skills and makes sure her team knows what is going on with their route so they can make alternative plans when needed.

Amanda Noble and Natasha Taylor (Not Pictured)

Dale Johnson

Whenever there is a problem with a vehicle, Dale can be relied upon to visit with the supervisors and drivers to discuss what alternatives or solutions might be possible.

He is known for coming to work early to make sure that all routes will be covered for the day and there is never a disruption to service.

Antowain Hubert

Clinton Kerr

On his way home from work, Clinton was passing a broken down ARR vehicle that was spilling hydraulic oil onto the road. Even though it was not his responsibility, he stopped and stayed for over an hour to help clean up the spill and clear the road for traffic.

Antonio Monroe

Natasha and Amanda diligently tested different electronic signature options to streamline the approval procedure for the records management team.

Over several weeks, they edited Adobe forms to ensure they met all requirements and functioned as needed.

David Bennett A co-worker would like to recognize David for going beyond his assigned work duties by volunteering to help sort batteries at the HHW. Whenever David finishes his regular route early, he goes over to the HHW to help them sort the neverending mound of batteries until his scheduled leave time.

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Rudy esparza While on his route, Rudy noticed someone trying to get a large metal stand out of their gate. He pulled over in a safe location and assisted the customer with getting the stand to her curb for bulk collection.

Antowain was working at the ARR Landfill when a Public Works employee struck overhead power lines, causing them fall on top of his truck.

Antowain called dispatch to inform them of the situation and instructed the Public Works driver to stay in the cab until the Austin Fire Department and Austin Energy arrived on the scene to properly handle the live wires. He stayed with the driver until the wires were removed and he could move to safety.

Antonio is recognized among his peers for his commitment to teamwork, leadership and going above and beyond his assigned work duties. He frequently encourages his crew members to work as a team and demonstrates by taking on extra workloads and assisting other routes when needed. He coaches his crew members on how they can be more effective on their routes by breaking down their service area to more manageable areas.

Charley White and Lorenzo Garcia

Chris Simpson, John Lopez and tony dudley

Tony, John and Chris are part of the Clean Austin program and are often called upon to help areas other than their own. When the CSR system was down, there were over 50 dead animal service requests in the system. Tony, John and Chris banded together to form a plan and successfully completed all requests within the 48-hour service window.

Robert matias

Charley and Lorenzo were returning from welding a fitting on a water truck when they passed a tractor trailer that had struck a light pole and gone into a ditch. The accident started a grass fire next to the tractor trailer. Charley and Lorenzo pulled over so they could use the water truck to put out the fire before it could spread to the tractor trailer and cause more damage.

Richard Avila and Dawn Whipple

Robert noticed an elderly customer struggling with their cart. Since then, Robert has taken the time to park his truck in a safe location, walk to the home and return the customer’s cart to the garage door even though they are not listed as a special service customer.

He talks with the customer regularly and is recognized for exemplifying outstanding customer service.

The PIO/ Marketing team was in need of assistance with facilitating a class on chicken keeping at the Sunset Valley Farmer’s Market. Richard Avila and Dawn Whipple volunteered several hours of their own time on a Saturday to help out with the class and made sure the attendees got all the information they needed.

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For more information about AIMING HIGHER AWARDS, or to request a nomination form,contact your division awards and recognition committee member: Collection Services Willie Simmons

Diversion Facilities Javier Vazquez

Litter Abatement LaPree Habbit

Safety John Hollenbeck

Customer Service Juanita Fernandez

Finance Carole Reynolds

Operations Support Ray Pilgrim

Strategic Initiatives Ashley Pace

Director’s Office Michael Sullivan

Human Resources Amanda Noble

Quality Assurance Bill Garrett

11

HR Corner

Employee Milestones of 2017

BY BLANCHE QUARTERMAN Human Resources Manager We have seen a lot of changes in our department over the last year. As we look forward to 2018 and all of the exciting things it will bring, it is important that we take time to recognize those who have joined us, grown with us and moved on from us.

New Employees – A void creates a vacuum and the opportunity for infusion of new blood. Welcome to all of those that have joined ARR during 2017 as full-time employees. Thank you for standing shoulder-to-shoulder with us!

Jesse Munoz

Operator Senior

Joseph Robertson

Operator

Rahim Kamara

Operator

Krista Roberts

Contract Mgmt. Specialist III

Ricky Hardeman

Operator Associate

James Aguilera

Operator Associate

Jerrimie Hyder

Operator

Marquise Darnell

Operator Associate

Jose Ruiz

Operator

Conney Isaac

Operator Associate

Keri Greenwalt

Digital Graphic Designer

Andre Lane

Operator Associate

Carina Hanson

Performance Consultant

Pascal Goode

Operator

Jeffrey Basile

Contract Mgmt Specialist IV

Eric Limon

Operator

Stephanie Hollanders

Financial Analyst I

Reginald Williams

Training Specialist

Kenneth Benton

Operator Associate

Georgia Marks

Administrative Specialist

Fabian Guzman

Operator Associate

Samuel Fields

Operator

Dextra Marsh

Operator

Maria Farris

Operator

Anthony Simms

Operator

Christopher Quiroz

Operator Associate

Sydney Richardson

Contract Mgmt. Specialist III

David Harris

Operator

Christopher Ramos-Compton

Operator Associate

Paul Adams

Operator Associate

Carlos Meza

Operator Associate

Retirees – We are likewise proud of all those who have served ARR and retired. Our department wouldn’t be the same without the tireless efforts of the following individuals who have retired in 2017:

12

Steven Dixon

Occupational Health & Safety Specialist

Lawrence Martin

Operator Senior

Tom Coleman

Operator Senior

Jarvis Houston

Operations Crew Leader

John Cruz

Customer Service Representative

Lawrence Brown

Operations Crew Leader

Ronnie Del Harper

Operator

Orange Jefferson

Operator Senior

Willie Hendrix

Operator Senior

Willie Scott

Operator Senior

Thomas Fulmer

Financial Manager II

Franklin Farr

Operations Crew Leader

Bobby Johnson

Operator Senior

Service Awards – We are privileged and honored to recognize our employees who celebrated major year milestones with the City of Austin in 2017. To highlight all those who have served the City of Austin and ARR we will be issuing Service Awards at our January safety meetings.

5 Years

10 Years

15 Years

20 Years

25 Years

Ray Pilgrim

Robert Williams

Gregory Shields

Jose Tejero

Tony Gil

David Daily

John Moreno

Melisa Hatherly

James Young

James Freeman

Kevin Haywood

Corey Anderson

Dana Blindert

Luis Cadena

Joe TreviĂąo

Daniel Hernandez

Raymundo Benavidez

Richard Hinojosa

Tammie Williamson

CJ Sisco

Jessie Nichols

Tony Smith

Dawn Whipple

Vincent Cordova

Dario Thomas

Eladio Romero

Carlos Cerna

Perminder Klair

Sir Cedric Lott

David Calderon

Michael Carnline

Kenneth Perkins

Lori Scott

Jose Salas

Elpidio Bailon

Vekessa Malveaux

Richard Porter

Cedric Armstrong

Juan Flores

Larry Middleton

Julia McCarthy

Adam Valdez

Robert Baker

Amos Castillo

Donald WIlliams

John Prevost

Larry Bailey

Michael Moore

Jeffery Mangett

Janice Felder

Teresa Dixon

Rudy Reyna

Terrance Carr

Karl Harrison

Timothy Darby

Jimmy Brown

Jason McCombs

Maria Hernandez

Ruby Fuentes

Rudy Esparza

Tina Bui

Jessica Frazier

Johnson Scott

Skylar Smith

William Quintana

Jason Galan

Chad Presley Hannah Broderick Titus Alexander

On The Horizon Coming in Spring 2018

ARR Education Fair From GED. to Ph.D.

Electronic timekeeping powered by Kronos

Learn about local educational opportunities

Austin Resource Recovery has been chosen to participate in a city-wide electronic timekeeping pilot. Keep a look out for more information on training and implementation of the program in future editions of ReNews.

Tuesday, January 16 & Wednesday, January 17 | 6 - 9 a.m.

Kenneth Gardner Service Center Participating organizations include Austin Art Institute | Austin Community College | BBVA Compass Bank | City of Austin: HRD, HealthyConnections, Tuition Reimbursement, Green Team | Concordia University | DeVry University | Huston-Tillotson University | National American University | Park University | Peloton | St. Edwards University | Texas State University | University of Phoenix | Velocity Credit Union | Western Governors University Register on TRAIN or contact Carina Hanson at 512-974-1904 13

Mayor Adler posing with ARR truck at PRIDE Parade

What would you like to see in

ReNews?

Please let us know what you think about this edition of ReNews.

Email Ashley Pace at ashley.pace@austintexas.gov with any of the following: • Guest columns • Photos • Employee profiles and recognition • Special projects • Events • Suggestions for improvement

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You can also sign up for ARR’s e-newsletter and read our blog at austinrecycles.com.

RENEWS TEAM Editor – Ashley Pace Graphic Design – Keri Greenwalt and Jorge Ortega Photography – Keri Greenwalt, Susanne Harm, Jorge Ortega and Ashey Pace