Trash Free Texas logo
Trash Free Texas
News & Updates

October 2022
Thank you for subscribing to the Trash Free Texas News and Updates.

We want to hear from you about your upcoming events and activities and want to know if you’ve added sites or adopted a spot and would like to be featured in the spotlight.

If you know of someone who would like to receive this quarterly update, please forward it to them and invite them to subscribe
This Month's Spotlight
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.
Program Updates
Resources for Your Upcoming Cleanup Events
Computer keyboard with TOOLKITS in place of the enter button
The Trash Free Texas project offers resources to assist communities and organizations in planning and implementing successful litter cleanup and education efforts. If you plan to hold cleanup events or implement litter outreach in 2022, or want to explore new ways to engage volunteers in litter cleanup opportunities, be sure to check out these new toolkits.

The Recreational Litter Cleanup Toolkit provides resources to assist local and regional governments, nonprofit organizations, and other entities interested in hosting recreational-driven litter cleanup events such as plogging, plalking, and pladdling, or creating educational campaigns to encourage these activities.
 
The Community Cleanup Challenge Toolkit provides resources to assist local and regional governments, nonprofit organizations, and other entities interested in hosting litter cleanup events. While the resources are designed for a competition-style cleanup, many are helpful for planning and implementing standard litter cleanup activities as well.  
 
The Local Government Trash Reduction and Education Toolkit is a consolidation of resources developed to assist local and regional governments, nonprofit organizations, and other entities who are seeking to engage and educate their communities on the topics of watersheds, litter, aquatic debris, and cleanup initiatives. The toolkit includes videos, reports, infographics, links to existing campaigns, and more.  
Partner Updates
Texas Litter Database User Survey Analysis
study track remove and prevent litter database graphic
Keep Texas Beautiful surveyed users of the Texas Litter Database to get user feedback and see where improvements might be necessary. They shared some analysis of the results in August, and a snapshot of some of the results are below.

  • Survey respondents represented 62 different cleanup events. 
  • Over 91% of respondents did not experience issues logging in to the database.
  • Only 36% had issues finding the event they wanted to report for in the database.
  • Over 89% of respondents did not experience issues entering data.
  • 75% of respondents found resources to assist partners with database use helpful.   
  • 45% of respondents have used the database to view or download existing data, and most liked the dashboard feature.
  • Less than 30% of respondents participated in a trash audit, but over 85% would consider trying it. Those that did had positive, eye opening experiences, and used the results to determine where additional infrastructure, education, and cleanups were needed.

Based on results, the future improvement plan for the database includes items such as:
  • Improving the event section to be easier to understand and utilize
  • Improving the location section
  • Creating a way to filter data before downloading
  • Creating a way to batch upload data for organizations with large amounts of events or data

If you have not already, check out the Texas Litter Database and see how it can be a useful tool for your litter cleanups and data retention while also adding your event results to statewide totals.
Make Plans to Participate in KTB's Annual Fall Sweep - Now through November 20
fall sweep with rake graphic
Each year, Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB) sponsors a Fall Sweep program to support the efforts of KTB Affiliates, nonprofits, volunteers, corporations, scout groups, and other community groups to organize fall cleanups and beautification projects.

To participate, you can find a cleanup in your community by searching the events calendar, contact a KTB affiliate, or organize your own community clean up.

Fall Sweep Cleanups scheduled in the region, include:

Santa Fe, 10/24/22 (sweep ends)
Nassau Bay, 11/5/22
Seabrook, 11/5/22
La Marque, 11/5/22

The deadline to sign up to host a cleanup event is October 31. More information about starting your own clean up (or finding one near you) is available on the KTB Fall Sweep web page.

If you are looking for new ways to engage volunteers in your litter cleanups, check out the Trash Free Texas toolkits for tips and resources to plan and implement different types of cleanup elements like community challenges or recreation.
H-GAC Offers Shareable Recycling, Litter Reduction Social Media Posts
white chalk-drawn thumbs up on a field of green
To supplement community or organizations' social media activities, the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) provides monthly content for use on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. Just visit the H-GAC Solid Waste Management Educational Tools webpage to download any of the images and captions and post on your own social media. Or, visit the H-GAC Recycling Facebook page and re-post any content you'd like. You can also find more social media messaging on the State of Texas Alliance for Recycling Texas Recycles Day webpage.
Galveston Bay Report Card Grades Health of Galveston Bay
hand holding a report card
The Houston Advanced Research Center and the Galveston Bay Foundation recently released the latest Galveston Bay Report Card, analyzing and grading the health of Galveston Bay. Galveston Bay received a C for overall health with indicators including water quality, habitat, wildlife, human health risk, coastal change, and pollution events and sources.

While considered a component of pollution events and sources, litter and trash indicators do not have enough information available to make an assessment to affect Galveston Bay’s overall grade. More information about litter and trash and how systematic clean-ups and reduction could impact the health of the bay is available.
Drug Enforcement Administration Takes Back Prescription Drugs Oct.29
DEA National Takeback
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 29. Check the DEA website in early October for area drop-off locations. The collection event provides a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications and environmental contamination. Law enforcement agencies interested in hosting a collection site should call the point of contact for this area.
Celebrate America Recycles Day on November 15
For more than two decades, communities have come together on November 15 to celebrate America Recycles Day. Find tools for organizing or attending special events online
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 quarterly update.