Austin, TX
City of Austin Requires Apartments, multifamily complexes to provide composting
AUSTIN, Texas — Austin is now the first city in Texas to require apartments and other multi-family complexes to provide composting to its residents.
The move is part of an effort by the city to reach a zero-waste goal by 2040.
It may just start as trash, though the end product is anything but.
“We started in 2009 out of my front yard with a half-ton Nissan pickup truck. Just a vague idea, a lot of naive optimism,” Break It Down owner Jeff Payne said. “What are we what are we doing with that food waste? How much value are recreating with it?”
Break It Down provides recycling and composting services to close to 1000 customers, mainly businesses like restaurants, and turns it into compost or fertilizer instead.
“We’re moving somewhere around 20 tons a day,” Payne said. “And to be honest, that’s kind of the tip of the iceberg.”
Payne says left alone, all that garbage becomes a big contributor to climate change.
“Food waste, when it goes into a landfill, doesn’t break down so well,” Payne said. “It’s going to tend to generate methane, which is a greenhouse gas.”
That’s why the city of Austin is now requiring multi-family complexes like apartments to provide composting services as of October 1st.
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“We can take those to composting facilities, where they are turned into nutrient-rich compost, which then can be redirected back into our communities.” Paul Bestgen with Austin Resource Recovery said.
Bestgen says composting is nothing new since it’s already offered for single-family homes and required for restaurants. But he says currently, the city is only at 40-percent landfill diversion of its 90-percent goal by 2040.
“… and so we need to be able to find different ways to get that number to move up,” Bestgen said.
Complexes which also include nursing homes and condos will have a year to comply.
“Our goal is to answer their questions, and help them overcome any obstacles that they are facing so that they can add this collection service for their residents,” Bestgen said.
But he recognizes it’ll also be a culture shift for residents too.
“You can start small,” Bestgen said. “You can start by just composting, maybe your apple cores or a banana peel.”
Payne says composting is just one small step for the home, with a big impact on the planet.
“I really only need to take the trash out once a week, and that keeps it simple,” Payne said. “And my trash can never stinks, so that’s nice.”
For a guide on what you can and can’t compost, the city has created a website here.
AUSTIN, Texas — After Senator Charles Perry vowed to introduce another bill to ban THC in Texas next legislative session, an Austin cannabis shop owner is urging lawmakers to find a middle ground.
Estella Castro owns Austinite Cannabis Co., a family-owned shop that makes and sells cannabis and hemp products.
Austinite Cannabis Co. (Photo: CBS Austin/Audrey Wong)
Her business has faced a potential THC ban before. During the 2025 legislative session, Senate Bill 3 attempted to enact a broad ban on all cannabinoids except CBD and CBG.
Castro says she was most worried for her customers. “It was a big initial hit of like, what are we gonna do? How are we gonna pivot? How are we gonna keep the doors open for everybody to keep their jobs?” she said.
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That bill passed, but was later vetoed by Governor Greg Abbott. Similar legislation failed to pass during the subsequent special session.
However, the possibility of a total ban bill being introduced and passed next session could spell trouble for Austinite Cannabis.
During a hearing Tuesday, July 7, Senator Charles Perry vowed to present such a bill next session as public officials, medical experts, and others discussed THC’s medical uses, effects on minors, and regulation.
Castro says over half of the store’s revenue comes from products that contain THC.
“I would say it’s about a 60/40 split: 60% THC and 40 CBD… So feel like it is a huge number that affects my store in so many ways,” she said.
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She feels that a total ban on THC would negatively affect multiple parties.
“Banning it is just hurting the consumer,” she said. “Making the consumer go and find a street dealer… killing any dispensaries… it’s gonna hurt your small business owner.”
If another THC ban bill is written, it will be introduced during the next legislative session, which begins in January 2027.
In the meantime, Castro’s two stores will continue to operate as normal. She hopes lawmakers will think twice about instituting a complete ban on THC.
“I feel like we’re better than that, you know, we’re Texas,” she said. “We need to find some middle ground where it’s not a complete ban, and we can still be able to come together.”
AUSTIN (KXAN) – Trevor Goosby is a projected first-round pick in the upcoming 2027 NFL Draft. The Texas offensive lineman anchors the group up front for one of the best teams in the country and was named a preseason All-American by Walter Camp.
But his football career felt in jeopardy when he was in high school.
“That was kind of my biggest question,” said Goosby. “I was really nervous because would I be the same football player coming back?”
Goosby was born with a congenital heart defect and had open-heart surgery when he was just 16 years old. He wasn’t sure how this would change his everyday life, including his football career.
“Definitely a lot of nerves just because you’re getting your ribs cracked open essentially and getting your heart worked on…It was a scary moment. I remember driving up to the hospital super nervous.”
Goosby was able to recover and become a great football player. He said not only has he become a person in learning to fight through adversity, but it helped him as a player as well with improved endurance.
Now, the star Longhorn is giving back as much as possible.
Goosby hosted a camp in Austin to benefit the Children’s Heart Foundation. The organization works to fund research on congenital heart defects.
The offensive tackle is matching all donations up to $20,000 made to the Children’s Heart Foundation through the event and campaign.
“It means a lot to me just because of the heart condition I did have back when I was 16. That just kind of changed my life. I just want to bring awareness to that.”
The camp was at Hyde Park High School in Northwest Austin. Goosby spoke about what he hopes the young campers took away from the event.
“I think it’s just more than football. Football is a big part of what I do but it’s not who I am…I just want to show all these kids that I’m just another great guy and just someone they can look up to.”
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