Volunteers Keep Tons of Trash, Tires Out of River
The weights are in, and organizers say the 30th Annual Great Texas River Clean Up held March 7 was the most successful to date.
More than 500 volunteers picked up trash and debris in and along the Upper San Marcos River to Stokes Park, Purgatory Creek, Sink Creek, Sessom Creek, and Willow Creek. A majority of the debris came from Purgatory Creek from Hunter Road to Mitchell Street.
- Total Trash: 6.85 tons
- Total Recycling: 9.27 tons; 183 passenger tires and 3 truck tires
An estimated 100 canoers volunteered to pick up trash in the San Marcos River from Stokes Park to the City of Gonzales, totaling 30 miles.
- Total Trash: 50 cubic yards
- Total Recycling: 15 cubic yards and 32 tires
The Students of Sustainability, a Texas State University student organization, did an audit of the litter that was brought in and found that plastic bottles and plastic retail bags made up half of the litter collected.
To help minimize the amount of trash between the annual river clean ups, Keep San Marcos Beautiful hosts Hot Spot cleanups on the first Saturday of each month. “We need all the help we can get. Once a year is not enough to control the amount of litter left on the ground,” said Amy Kirwin, City of San Marcos Solid Waste Coordinator. To receive notifications for cleanups, contact Kirwin at akirwin@sanmarcostx.gov.
“Because the city is rapidly growing and the buffers between development and creeks are disappearing, it is ever more important to pick up litter and put it in either recycling or trash receptacles. It takes the whole community to make great changes,” said Melani Howard, City of San Marcos Habitat Conservation Plan Manager. If you would like to help with more efforts with the Habitat Conservation Plan, contact Howard at mhoward@sanmarcostx.gov.
The 30th Annual Great Texas River Cleanup was sponsored by TG Canoes and Kayaks, City of San Marcos, and Texas State University. Multiple donors helped make the event possible: Texas State’s Environmental Stewardship Committee, San Marcos Lions Club, Guadalupe Blanco River Authority, Green Guy Recycling, SurPower, HEB, San Marcos River Foundation, Greater San Marcos Partnership, Print This, Casa de Don Lorenzo and Mochas and Javas.
