City of Austin gives back to the planet by repurposing 2023 winter storm debris

"Dillo Dirt" is a compost made from recycled materials that diverts waste from landfills and is more cost effective.

KVUE
Author: Pamela Comme
Published: 9:06 AM CDT May 8, 2023

HORNSBY BEND, Texas — Since the 2023 winter storm, Austin Resource Recovery continues to pick up all the debris leftover. 

With the help of outside contractors, the City has collected nearly 170,000 tons of storm debris - enough to fill Q2 Stadium about four times.

"On a normal year, we ... [collect] between 15 and 20,000 tons from just normal, you know, brush pickup," said Ian Moede, Austin Water environmental policy program manager. 

This year, the brush collected exceeded previous years by 10, which even beat the amount of debris collected following the 2021 winter storm.

"We learned a lot from the previous ice... storm... we had a lot of plans set in place to help prevent shutdowns," added Moede. 

Not shutting down has helped them keep operations running, but there's so much debris that it will take months to process all of it. While the process to get rid of the debris will take long, all of the tree limbs and branches will be given back to the Earth through Dillo Dirt.

Dillo Dirt is compost made at Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant. Like other composts, Dillo Dirt has many benefits like reducing watering requirements and enriching the soil environment. 

It was the first program of its kind in the State and one of the oldest in the nation. Brush generated by City of Austin departments and residents is mixed with treated biosolids, or wastewater sludge, and composted to create Dillo Dirt, according to Austin Water. 

"Our big buyers are our agriculture," said Moede. "People are using it on their fields to grow all different kinds of crops and turf grasses."

Dillo Dirt is a resource that diverts waste from landfills while giving back to the environment.

"Composting is a much more cost effective method," said Moede. 

Moede and his team have a busy year ahead. While they have the space to hold the debris, Moede's team is hopeful that the next winter event doesn't result in as much storm debris as this year. 

"I'm optimistic that all of the branches that were going to come down from the last ice storm came down and wouldn't be there for the next one," he added. "We have space to help with those kinds of things. I hope that it doesn't happen."

About a two week's ago, the City completed it's third and final city-wide pass to collect all storm debris.

If you still have tree limbs and branches waiting to be picked up, crews will respond to service requests made through the end of June. Customers can enter a service request online or download the Austin 3-1-1 mobile app to request a collection. 

Come July, standard curbside collections will resume.