Article printed in Denton Record-Chronicle
April 2002

In last month's column, I discussed some of the potential reasons that Denton has a litter problem. This month, I will outline some actions that we can all take to significantly decrease litter in our community and make Denton a more appealing place to live, learn, work, and play.

• Place only tightly tied, bagged trash at your curb. Trash placed in open containers, such as boxes, will blow throughout the community.
• Place bagged trash at the curb either the night before or the morning of your curbside solid waste service. Trash placed at the curb seven days a week is easily scattered on neighborhood streets by wind, rain, and animals.
• Use vehicle ashtrays for cigarette butts. According to Texas Department of Transportation studies, cigarette butts are the most common litter item found on Texas roadways.
• Place a litterbag or box in your vehicle to contain trash that accumulates. This will prevent trash from spilling out of your vehicle when the doors are opened.
• Keep the bed of your pick-up truck clean, including work vehicles. Loose, lightweight trash such as cups, paper, lunch sacks, and cans blow out of the beds while driving.
• Don't step over litter, but instead pick up litter wherever you see it. Teach your children to do the same.

If we all helped with this effort, there would be much less litter in Denton.

• wrote a 'Memorandum of Understanding' between the city and the Texas Department of Transportation to monitor and document the level of contracted mowing and litter removal services provided to Denton on state-maintained roadways, particularly I-35E. In 2001, both the mowing and litter pick-up cycles increased. However, since the winter of 2002 TXDOT has experienced difficulty with the litter contractor. KDB worked with TXDOT and secured a March litter clean up on state roadways. TXDOT re-lets the litter contract bid on May 14th. Denton will have a new litter contractor in place by mid-June.
• wrote and secured $104,987 in grant funding from the North Central Texas Council of Governments to establish an Environmental Crimes Unit in the Denton Police Department. Mike Sweet is Denton's Environmental Crimes Officer. Officer Sweet has made eight arrests, and issued 366 citations, 400+ warnings, nine outstanding Class C warrants, and four outstanding felony warrants since the program's inception in September 2000.
• established a 'Waste in Place' (nationally-recognized environmental curriculum) teacher training program in the DISD.
• in conjunction with the Parks and Recreation Department, established a 'Litter-Free' Event policy for city parks. Guidelines and assistance are given to all community event coordinators.
• developed a 'Clean Business' manual and training program for Denton businesses interested in addressing solid waste issues. The program is FREE and will soon be offered in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce.
• introduced the concept of a 'Clean and Green' campus program to UNT. The goal of the new campus program is to focus on litter reduction, recycling strategies, and beautification efforts. Ultimately, the goal is to heighten student awareness of litter (its causes and solutions), and to decrease littering off campus as well.
• in collaboration with the TWU Visual Arts and Media Department, created CAN IT! -- an anti-littering campaign targeting 16-24 year olds through public service announcements on Charter cable stations and the City of Denton's DTV Channel 26.
• in collaboration with the Delta Lodge and Budweiser, working to implement strategies to decrease litter at the annual Fry Street Fair.
• with numerous partners, sponsors two community-wide litter clean up and recycling events, and one city employee clean up event annually .
• sponsors two 'Clean Campus Days' each year for both public and private schools.
• sponsors the Adopt-a-Spot and Adopt-a-Park volunteer programs.

On Saturday April 6th, hundreds of concerned Denton residents braved inclement weather to remove 22.14 tons of trash from the community.

For the thirteenth consecutive year, the Solid Waste Department participated in the GAC. This year, the department donated twelve opentop trash containers, a glass recycling containers, and free landfill use for City of Denton residents. The landfill collected 17.56 tons of debris and 4.04 tons of brush.

For the ninth consecutive year, Safety-Kleen Corporation donated their services to collect household hazardous waste from City of Denton residents. This year Safety-Kleen served 458 vehicles between 8:00 AM and 12:00 noon and collected 40,000 lbs of paint, 1,800 gallons of oil and fluids, 20 car batteries, and 15 oil filters at a donated cost of $24,800.

For the third year, Briscoe Alignment and Tire collected and recycled tires. Sonic Drive-Ins joined Briscoe this year in the tire collection activity. Two tons of tires were collected.

For the second year, BJ & AP Salvage collected and recycled three tons of appliances and .75 tons of electronics for Denton County residents.

For the second year, the High Noon Lion's Club, the Salvation Army, and the Denton Hearing Health Center collected eyeglasses, clothing, and hearing aids for rehabilitation and re-distribution in the community.

For the second year, Papa John's Pizza donated 400 pizzas and Cokes to feed the volunteers and event workers.

TetraPak and Frenchy's Lawn and Tree Service cleared hundreds of pounds of trash, debris and brush from a transient encampment on private property off of University Drive.

Mayor Euline Brock attended and thanked all who volunteered, including members of the City Council who cleaned their Adopt-a-Spot.

NEXT MONTH: What businesses can do to decrease litter in Denton.

For more helpful information, go to www.kdb.org.

Lancine Bentley is the Program Manager for Keep Denton Beautiful, Inc. She was the recipient of the 1998 Outstanding Woman of the Year award from the Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women in Fort Worth. She can be reached at (940) 349-7770 or at lancine.bentley@cityofdenton.com.