Cora Lennert, Outreach Manager at Keep Austin Beautiful
"I
feel like Austin, you know, when people that live here visit other places, I
think they’re more thankful about where they live...and I think they realize
that we do have something really special here..." - Cora Lennert, Outreach Manager at Keep Austin Beautiful
Litter in Austin
Austin is a naturally beautiful city, between its many lakes and creeks and numerous parks and other outdoor areas. But Austin's population is quickly growing and the amount of litter in the city is growing along with it. I-35 is a national highway, yet its short stretch through urban Austin is the busiest part of the entire highway. (austintexas) This congestion of people results in a lot of litter and trash. Cora Lennert told me that "the number one factor in any city is highway mileage" (Lennert). The reason for this is "[partly] lack of ownership, people don't live here..." along with "car wrecks...pieces get broken everywhere". (Lennert) Tobacco products are also a huge litter issue in Austin. The official Austin city website reports that "nearly 20% of all litter in the city are cigarette butts". (austintexas) The tobacco litter doesn't just stop at cigarette butts, though. Cora Lennert remarked that "it’s
cigarette butts, it’s the packs, it’s the cellophane off the packs, lighters,
dip cans, like everything associated with it." (Lennert)
Working to Stop the Problem
We are lucky enough here in Austin to have many dedicated people working to prevent and clean litter from the city. Many private organizations such as Keep Austin Beautiful organize constant cleanups around the city. Additionally, our city government facilitates and supports litter prevention and cleanup around the city. When I asked Keep Austin Beautiful's Outreach Manager (Cora Lennert) if she thought "that the city of Austin government
adequately supports the different organizations working at stopping the
pollution and litter problems in the city", she replied: "Absolutely...they are one of our biggest partners. Austin Resource Recovery provides the trash pick-up after all of our
cleanups...we also have partnerships with the Watershed Protection Department." (Lennert) But what these organizations truly need is the public's support and awareness of the problem. If you can find the time for it, please contact Keep Austin Beautiful or similar organizations and help out with a city cleanup.