KTB will partner with affiliate community members in Houston/Galveston, San Marcos, and the Rio Grande Valley to reduce litter and its eventual flow into the Gulf of Mexico.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Gulf of Mexico Division recently announced that Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB) would be among 17 recipients awarded over $7.8 million for innovative projects focused on reducing the amount of trash in our waterways through trash prevention and/or removal. KTB will receive more than $400,000 over a two year period, working directly with affiliates in the Houston/Galveston area, San Marcos, and the Rio Grande Valley.
KTB is thrilled to begin working on this project. By leveraging existing affiliate partnerships in three unique Texas communities in the Gulf of Mexico watershed, KTB will create benchmark programs for litter cleanup and prevention. The project will identify gaps in each community’s litter prevention programming and promote education and resources to businesses and individuals with a goal of reducing litter and its eventual flow into the Gulf of Mexico.
“Keep Texas Beautiful is grateful to receive this EPA grant and looks forward to working with the project communities to help address the ever-increasing and important issue of litter in our waterways,” said Sara Nichols, KTB Program Director. “Through this grant, we are hoping to create programs that are proven to work and can be implemented in any community with litter and illegal dumping issues.”
Successes that come from this project can be replicated in other areas of the state so communities can create programs to reduce litter without having to start from scratch. Through the efforts of this grant, which kicks off this month with site visits to the participating communities, KTB intends to play a role in reversing the flow of litter into Texas waterways and the Gulf of Mexico.