Government
BY AMIRA VAN LEEUWEN
Single-use ordinance not seeing desired e ects in San Marcos as litter increases
Local leaders in San Marcos are navigating ways to e ectively enforce a single-use beverage container ordinance after a 2024 end-of-summer report showed an increase in litter in the San Marcos River. How we got here The ordinance went into e ect May 1 and restricts single-use beverage containers in the San Marcos River and within designated parks adjacent to the river, according to previous reporting by Community Impact . The ordinance, which was implemented to mitigate the amount of litter in and around the river, de nes a single-use beverage container as “any container used to hold beverages designed to be used once before being thrown away,” and may include containers made of metal, aluminum, cardboard, Styrofoam, plastic or glass. Since then, the parks and recreation depart- ment has focused solely on educating the public through signage and its Reuse at the River out- reach campaign. But most people do not look at those signs, Parks and Recreation Director Jamie Lee Case said. “That’s been a huge frustration and struggle for us this season, as is every season,” Case said during the fth annual River Guardianship Sympo- sium, which was held Sept. 15. No citations for violating the ordinance are being issued within the rst year. A closer look City sta said it is di cult to enforce the single-use container ordinance because of the need to address life-threatening injuries sustained due to intoxication, ghts and heat, according to a Sept. 17 workshop presentation. Assistant City Manager Rodney Gonzales said those incidents are a higher priority, which made it di cult for sta to enforce the ordinance. “When there’s a higher priority, we go to the higher priority,” Gonzales said during the workshop. The impact According to the data presented, there was a signi cant increase in litter removal during the 2024 summer season, which was attributed to the increase in in-river litter cleanups conducted by the city’s Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan, or EAHCP, team and volunteers. In 2023, the EAHCP was holding in-river litter
cleanups once a week—now they are doing them twice a week, Case explained. David Zambrano, education and outreach coordinator for The Eyes of the San Marcos River, also began organizing a weekly, Monday morning volunteer cleanup to mitigate the amount of trash seen in and outside the river after busy weekends. The Eyes of the San Marcos River is a local nonpro t organization that looks to protect the San Marcos River by promot- ing environmental stewardship. The city also had at least 107 single-use container ordinance violations, 284 Styrofoam violations and 188 glass violations that were accounted for. Since no citations for violating the ordinance are being issued within the rst year of implementation, these violations are just verbal warnings given to rivergoers. The marshal’s department also struggled to maintain sta ng. Typically, there are 10 full-time city marshals or deputies patrolling city parks. This year, the city lost half of that personnel due to injury or summer active-duty military. By Labor Day, San Marcos only had four full-time marshals, Case said. The city contracted eight police o cers to assist during a few weekends throughout the summer. Case said this was another challenge because not all of those o cers were familiar with San Marcos. In addition to its full-time sta , the city hired nine part-time, seasonal park ambassadors, who educated park users on local regulations/ordi- nances and also assist with litter pickup, according to the presentation. The options Gonzales said sta were discussing managed access through perimeter fencing and entry gates, paid parking or charging a permit fee for picnic areas. The city is also considering hiring additional sta . The managed access could decrease the number of visitors in the city’s riverfront parks, potentially reducing the amount of trash. What the dais is saying The council is considering implementing paid parking, and a portion of the revenue could be used towards additional sta to enforce the ordinance. The dais also said they did not want to charge San Marcos residents for parking. Another viewpoint Virginia Parker, executive director of the San
A volunteer picks up trash in the river as part of The Eyes of the San Marcos River weekly cleanup.
Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan in-river litter removal
2022
2023
2024
200
150
100
50
0
May June July Aug.
Sept.
Violations from May through September 2024
107 Single-use container 188 Glass 207 Other 284 Styrofoam 1,200 Alcohol in the park
SOURCE: CITY OF SAN MARCOS COMMUNITY IMPACT
Marcos River Foundation, said she thought the ordinance was a step in the right direction for reducing litter in the river and that the educa- tional e orts made were important, but that enforcement of the ordinance was “critical” for its success. What’s next? The council directed sta to explore options for fencing and managed access along the city’s riverfront parks, which will come back to council at a future meeting date.
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