Texas State University students will fan out across the San Marcos area on Saturday, March 1, for the 40th Annual Great Texas River Cleanup. The semiannual Keep San Marcos Beautiful event brings together hundreds of community volunteers to pick up trash in the San Marcos River watershed.
TXST students play a key role in the river cleanups, comprising from 95% to 99% of the event’s volunteer base, says Amy Thomaides, community enhancement initiatives manager for the City of San Marcos’ Resource Recovery Department. At last spring’s event, more than 800 volunteers collected 16,810 pounds of trash, 2,944 pounds of recyclables, and 70 tires.
Peyton Austin, an environmental health and safety specialist at Texas State, heads up the Bobcat volunteer efforts for the Great Texas River Cleanup. He says the events help show how TXST impacts the river, which starts at the San Marcos Springs on campus and flows through Sewell Park.