Environmental Services staff told the council on Jan. 28 that curbside recycling tonnage fell this past year to about 674 tons and that contamination — recyclable materials rendered unusable because of food waste or other contaminants — accounts for roughly 44% of materials in the recycling stream.

Darryl Lisak, who oversees Environmental Services, said the department physically services every residential address in the city each week and stressed the challenges of declining recycling rates and rising fleet needs. "That's bad. That's really bad," Lisak said of the 56% recyclable/44% contamination split. He told council the department will launch a targeted education campaign this spring, funded in part by grants from Union Pacific, Coca-Cola and a TCEQ solid-waste grant, and will deploy stickers and videos to help residents reduce contamination.

Christie (last name not specified in the transcript), who oversees Community Appearance, described the City's new City Alert Center targeted messaging, expanded in-house weedy-lot abatement, Keep Victoria Beautiful volunteer programs and the "waste wizard" online tool planned for a March launch. The waste-wizard is an online search tool residents can use to determine local disposal or donation options for specific items.

Lisak outlined fleet challenges: many collection vehicles have been pushed past intended replacement cycles because of long manufacturer lead times; four 2016 automated trucks need replacement in the near term. He estimated approximate replacement costs (example totals cited in presentation) and noted possible 2027 emissions standards that could complicate procurement and increase vehicle costs.

Staff said recruiting certified heavy-truck mechanics and qualified drivers is difficult; starting commercial pay in the private sector is higher than the city's pay bands, which drives turnover. Lisak said staffing shortfalls force overtime and that a previously budgeted additional route has not been placed into service because the city has not been able to hire and retain the driver.

Lisak and City Manager Jesus Garza told council environmental services is largely funded as an enterprise (not general-fund) activity; operating reserves have been built in part to cash-finance capital replacements rather than issue bonds. Lisak said staff will bring a Class 1 amendment to the landfill operating contract and a landfill-operations RFP to council in coming weeks to seek better revenue and operational terms.

On code-related abatement, staff said in-house weedy-lot abatement has improved response time and cost compared with prior contracting. Staff also said liens are placed on properties for abatement work when applicable.

Council members asked about the City Alert Center messages and about potential vehicle-emissions and cost impacts; staff said they will track developments and return with budget proposals where appropriate. Lisak also recommended exploring a centralized fleet maintenance location and hiring mechanics trained on garbage-collection vehicles to reduce out-of-town repairs and downtime.