You are receiving this newsletter because we thought you'd be interested in learning more about Trash Free Texas, an initiative by the Houston-Galveston Area Council and partners aimed at reducing or eliminating litter along area waterways.
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Click here to join our mailing list and make sure you receive updates about Trash Free Texas. The last newsletter for non-subscribers will be in June 2021. Don't miss an issue! |
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Click here to send us an email to let us know you aren't interested in updates about Trash Free Texas. The last newsletter for non-subscribers will be in June 2021. |
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Village of Surfside Beach |
Two of the newest Adopt-A-Spot sites are in The Village of Surfside Beach; however, volunteers have been cleaning this area for longer. The area is popular with both beach-goers and fishermen, which, unfortunately, means it can become heavily trashed.
The Village of Surfside Beach hosts cleanup events and joined the Trash Free Texas Adopt-A-Spot program in hopes of not only protecting the Gulf and the Intercoastal Waterway from the large amount of trash that’s left there but also to help protect marine life, including the critically endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle. Organizers and community members also hope that partnering with Trash Free Texas Adopt-A-Spot will bring more awareness to the area and spark interest among more volunteers to help keep the area trash free.
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Would you like to see your Adopt-A-Spot Story featured in a future Spotlight? Click on the button below to complete a form and we'll share your story with the community. |
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Plans Underway to Develop Toolkits, Convene Workgroups |
- Provide outreach and engagement support for regional-cleanup events through partnerships with local governments, recreational clubs (such as cycling and running clubs), and Keep Texas Beautiful affiliates.
- Work with Texas-based restaurants to reduce the use of single-use plastic.
We will design toolkits to provide resources for holding multi-community cleanup events, such as Mayor’s Challenges; resources to help engage recreational groups in cleanup activities, such as “plogging”; and resources for outreach on general cleanup and litter education for communities.
We plan to convene two workgroups. One will work with recreational groups, local governments, and other entities doing litter cleanup work to determine what resources would best support recreational groups in becoming more active in local cleanup efforts. The second workgroup will be composed of restaurant owners and representatives, local restaurant associations, local governments or chambers of commerce, etc., and will help inform the resources and potential programs developed to reduce single-use plastic.
To help us begin drafting the toolkits and convene the workgroups, we would love YOUR feedback!
- Are there any resources your city or group would find particularly beneficial in the litter cleanup toolkits?
- Have you hosted multi-city style cleanups, and would you be interested in providing feedback, lessons learned, or identified needs with us?
- Are you interested in participating in the recreation group or restaurant workgroups to be convened later this summer?
- Do you know any local restaurants that have initiated single-use plastic reduction strategies and would be interested in sharing their experience as a possible case study?
- Would you like to learn more about any of the resources or workgroups we are working on?
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EPA Healthy and Resilient Gulf of Mexico 2021 Request for Applications |
The United States Environmental Protection Agency is soliciting applicants for projects to improve water quality, restore habitat, enhance community resilience, and increase environmental education. Category E.2 for Trash Free Waters focuses on projects that reduce trash at its source, what it labels as “Preventing More, Picking Up Less.” The request for applications closes on August 6, 2021. |
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Keep Surfside Beautiful Patriotic Pick Up |
July 4 is the busiest holiday at Surfside Beach, and, unfortunately, one of the trashiest on the beach. Volunteers will gather from 8 to 10 a.m. Monday, July 5, at the main entrance to pick up trash and help prevent it from ending up in the Gulf. Event organizers, along with Keep Texas Beautiful, will provide gloves and bags for the pickup. Learn more.
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Coming Soon - Statewide Litter Database |
Keep Texas Beautiful and the Houston Advanced Research Center are developing a central database to organize and store trash and marine debris data statewide. When completed, the database can be used by litter cleanup volunteers, cleanup site coordinators, or any other user to either input their trash collection data or view and download trash collection data. Analysis of this data is an important component of understanding the litter problem in Texas and its waterways, and therefore, managing it. The project is funded by the Garver Black Hilyard Family Foundation. H-GAC, the North Central Texas Council of Governments, and The Meadows Center at Texas State University are testing a beta version and giving feedback as part of the Trash Free Texas project. The database is expected to be available for use later this summer. |
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Houston Audubon Seeks Partners for Bird Week Cleanups |
Houston Bird Week 2021 celebrates the important role Houston plays in the journey of billions of migratory birds and the everyday lives of our resident birds. Houston Audubon and local conservation partners arrange a week of events centered around our region’s birds and wildlife – from bird walks to mindfulness talks to Purple Martin watch parties. Since its inception in 2019, Bird Week has also hosted several trash cleanups around the Houston-Galveston region. Organizers are looking for partners interested in hosting a cleanup or some other wildlife/bird-related event for this year’s Bird Week, scheduled for September 18-25.
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Galveston Bay Action Network (GBAN): A free pollution reporting tool |
The Galveston Bay Action Network (GBAN), Galveston Bay Foundation's free website and mobile app, allows anyone to easily report any kind of pollution to the proper authorities from anywhere in the Houston-Galveston area. Pollution events like chemical spills, illegal discharge of boat sewage, and the dumping of waste have the potential to impact water quality and threaten the health of the local people, plants, and animals. Enabling community members to report pollution events to the proper authorities helps mitigate these negative effects on a broad scale.
When users make a pollution report through the GBAN website or app, they are asked to submit information, including the pollution type and location, photographs, and contact information in case the responsible authority has additional questions. The report is automatically sent to the proper authority based on the indicated pollution type and location. Having an easy way for the public to submit pollution reports eliminates the hassle of figuring out who to report to and provides regulatory agencies with an earlier response to pollution events.
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Do you have a trash clean-up or litter reduction project that’s coming up, ongoing, or recently completed? Ask for help or share your success with the Trash Free Texas Community by sharing in our monthly update. |
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