30th Year of Don't Mess With Texas: More Work to Be Done

We've all driven down the highway and seen workers in orange or yellow safety vests picking up trash, but in 2015, litter cleanup efforts cost $32 million statewide.

According to Jeff Salzgeber with TxDOT, "Trash is a big problem in Texas [with] an estimated 500 million pieces of litter pile up each year along state maintained highways. Seventy percent of this litter is small trash like napkins, cigarette butts and fast food wrappers."

Last Thursday afternoon, Tobias Walker and Antonio Aguilar, of Kileen, Texas, went out to the Grape Creek area, along Hwy 208, in a white passenger van hauling a caged trailer. They helped oversee a work crew.  

Walker, a foreman for Boot Straps Occupational Services, said their 'Klean Up Krew' is contracted for TxDOT, and they travel to pick up trash all the way from I-20 in Odessa to Bastrop, Austin, Midland and Abilene, etc.." Their workers get paid by the mile. They start at 7 a.m., and depending on the heat, may work 12-hour days. On an average day, they will pick up several miles of trash and fill their 16' X 6 1/2' X 4' trailer several times.  

"At 1 p.m., we've already been to the dump five times already," said Walker.

Observed in the trailer were mostly aluminum beer cans, restaurant waste, and convenience store cups.

Walker added, "BSOS and the KUK is a program that helps mostly ex-offenders with employment; and although this is a good thing, it's a shame that no one is sorting the trash. We are just putting it in the dump, costing up to $25 a load." 

In a continuing effort to encourage citizens to be responsible and dispose of their trash properly, there are many programs and ad campaigns in effect, especially in Texas. Thirty years ago, in 1986, legendary singer/songwriter Willie Nelson did a public service announcement, and the slogan "Don't mess with Texas" was born. 
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Salzgeber said, "The Lone Star State is celebrating the 30th anniversary of 'Don’t mess with Texas' in a major way this year. The statewide litter prevention campaign is pleased to announce a new generation of Texas musicians who will lend their voices, and their support, to the DMWT effort. They include Lukas Nelson (Willie Nelson’s son), the Eli Young Band and Grupo Fantasma, all of whom will be featured in the campaign’s public service announcements beginning this month.
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He added, "Lukas Nelson is singing the same DMWT campaign song in the same location as his father, Willie Nelson, did in the 1980s: a song inspired by 'Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys.' The music industry has a long history of supporting DMWT. These artists join the likes of iconic singers Willie Nelson, George Strait, Lyle Lovett and Stevie Ray Vaughan in helping keep the Lone Star State litter free.  

Texas Transportation Commissioner Jeff Austin III said, “'Don’t mess with Texas’ is more than an iconic slogan; it’s an appeal to our Texas pride to keep our great state beautiful and litter-free. It also serves as a reminder that each of us has a responsibility to put trash where it belongs and not toss it alongside our roadways. Whether you’re a tried-and-true Texan, or just passing through, we’re here to remind you, ‘Don’t mess with Texas.’”

Karen Threlkeld, also with the TxDOT added, "We actually do studies on the litter that our contractors pick up, and in one test, there were 435 million pieces of litter; things that were able to be seen and actually picked up. Litter is not only an issue in our state, but also locally. We ask that people just take more responsibility. Cigarette butts are the most commonly found litter on the sides of the roads, which as we all know, could lead to devastating effects such as fires--like the recent one in Concho County."

Threlkeld also said (in an effort to encourage people not to litter), "We have a team [who] will go into the elementary schools, starting at Kindergarten and through the 5th grade, to stress the importance to children. Our 'Litter Force,' who dress up as cartoon-type super heroes, talk to the kids about how to dispose of their litter, for example fast food wrappers. We also have highway programs where groups can adopt a 2 mile section on each side of the highway, and be responsible for picking up the litter in that area four times a year. In exchange for that, we put a placard up on that section with their name on it."  

The Adopt a Highway program is a nationwide program that started in the Tyler, Texas area. 

Threlkeld said the cost of picking up litter is a "real' cost." In Tom Green County this year alone, we will spend $185,000 just picking up litter.

That's why we're asking people to be more conscious and responsible by not littering; keep it in your car and dispose of it properly," said Threlkeld. "That money could be spent on better things that we need in our community."

For more information, or if you would like to get involved in any of these campaigns, contact TxDOT at (800) 558-9368 and online at www.txdot.gov.