NCTCOG Materials Management Newsletter

Litter pollutes our waterways, reducing water quality, which negatively impacts both our drinking water and our ability to use water recreational. Cleaning up litter can be costly and difficult, so educating the public on how to prevent litter in the first place is critically important.

NCTCOG's Public Education Task Force (PETF) developed a video explaining why litter is a problem in the North Central Texas region. PETF and the Wastewater and Treatment Education Roundtable have also developed additional videos covering the following topics:

Proper Pool Draining in North Texas,
Proper Disposal of Household Hazardous Waste,
Drug Take-Back Explainer Video,
Stormwater Pollution Prevention - Lawn Care,
Fats, Oils, and Grease, and
Wipes Clog Pipes.

To view and share these videos and others, please visit the NCTCOG E&D YouTube page!

The Resource Conservation Council is hosting conference calls for solid waste managers and all interested parties in the North Central Texas region to discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on solid waste management and practices and to share knowledge and lessons learned. Topics discussed during the past two calls include:

Safety of employees;
Changes in residential and commercial solid waste volumes; and the
Increase of litter found in parks.

The Third Regional Solid Waste COVID-19 Response Conference call is scheduled for Tuesday, September 15, 2020 at 10:30 a.m.

If you have any specific solid waste concerns or topics of interest for discussion, please submit them by September 8, 2020 to Elena Berg, eberg@nctcog.org, to help prepare for the call.

This spring, NCTCOG was one of 17 entities awarded a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of its Trash Free Waters grant program, which focuses on the prevention and removal of litter in waterways as well as outreach and education.

NCTCOG has partnered with the Houston Galveston Area Council and the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment on a 3-year project that is anticipated to begin in mid-September 2020. The geographic area for the project is North Central Texas and the Houston region, but it is anticipated to serve as a model for other regions throughout Texas as well.

The main tasks of the project are:

Add adopt-a-spot littler cleanup locations to the Trash Free Texas website,
Collect regional trash removal data,
Implement regional public engagement events and outreach opportunities,
Develop a local government trash reduction and educational toolkit, and
Work with the restaurant industry on plastics reduction through a certification program.

The North Texas Community Cleanup Challenge, a friendly competition between North Texas communities to see which one can collect the most litter per resident, has been postponed until Spring 2021 in order to make this a safe and beneficial experience for all communities.

At the January 2021 Public Education Task Force meeting, members will determine specific dates and other pertinent decisions relating to his challenge. Fore more information, please visit the Public Education Task Force webpage and the North Texas Community Cleanup webpage.

The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), in coordination with the Resource Conservation Council, initiated the Western Region Solid Waste Capacity Study in July 2020. The objective of the study is to gain a better understanding of the long-term solid waste management needs in the western eight counties of the North Central Texas region, which consists of Erath, Hood, Johnson, Palo Pinto, Parker, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise counties.

A project website has been set up for this effort where you can find background information and upcoming activities.

The TCEQ Pollution Prevention team has partnered with UT Arlington to present at the 2020 Pollution Prevention Waste Management Workshop.

P2 plans are required from all Small and Large Quantity Generators of hazardous waste as well as Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Form R reporters in the State of Texas. This workshop offers:

Waste Program updates
TRI rule requirements and updates
Understanding of the P2 rule and what is required
Resources and options for pollution prevention projects

These topics may save your facility time, effort, and money as well as potentially avoiding violations, citations, fines, and penalties.

We are looking for the best reuse projects done in 2020 — and we know we have all had a lot of time at home for projects this year!
There are two categories open to individuals and businesses:

Best Construction and Remodeling Project of 2020
Best Art, Fashion and Furniture Project of 2020

Applications are open August 17th - October 20th, 2020.

The First Place winner for each category will receive free admission (2 passes each) to the 2021 Texas Reuse Tour (dates and locations TBD), a Certificate of Achievement, and of course, bragging rights!
Second Place winners will receive Certificates of Achievement (and also bragging rights!).

This year, the STAR Recycling Summit will be combined with the Compost Summit for the first time ever, set to take place October 5-7, 2020 through a virtual platform. More details will be released in the following weeks - exhibitor and attendee registration will open in early July, 2020. Please visit the 2020 STAR North Texas Summit event page to check for updates.

STAR has opened up a call for subject experts to participate in virtual presentations and panels. You are invited to submit topic ideas as they relate to one or more of the following topics:

COVID-19 - Moving Forward in Changing Times: retailers, manufacturers, haulers, processors and others connected through the supply chain.
Hard to recycle items: policies, practices, how-to guides on managing EPS material, mattresses, appliances, and other not easily recyclable goods.
The Packaging Debate: the myths and the facts.
Construction materials recovery: wood to biochar, reclaiming metals, upcycling/reuse of office furniture, and other recovered C&D materials.