In 2007, 136,000 tons of trash from Austin's residential customers ended up dumped, smashed and covered up at the Texas Disposal Systems landfill, just south of the Austin city limits.

News 8 Austin’s Reagan Hackleman reports this three-part series about the city’s plan to decrease this number and eventually eliminate trash altogether through the Austin's Zero Waste Plan.

According to Waste News, a trade publication, Austin’s recycling number is the highest in Texas. Only 9 percent trash is recycled in Dallas, 4 percent in San Antonio and just 2.5 percent in Houston.