SAN MARCOS, Texas —
The new “Reuse at the River” ordinance goes into effect for the city of San Marcos on Wednesday, May 1, banning single-use containers on the San Marcos River, along the banks of the river and in certain other areas.
The city wants people to switch over to reusable drink containers that can go in a dishwasher, instead of containers that will be thrown away after use. City officials are trying to get away from waste that ends up in the water, like aluminum cans, Styrofoam cups, plastic red party cups and disposable water bottles.
"It definitely is a problem. There are certainly, after big holidays, after large event gatherings – you do tend to see little pockets of areas that have some trash floating around, absolutely. After the weekends, as well," Christie Murillo, the marketing and outreach coordinator for the city's Parks and Recreation Department, said.
The city is also limiting the size of coolers allowed. Each person is only allowed to bring one cooler or ice chest that is less than 30 quarts.
"Any change that we can make to limit, to reduce the amount of trash going into the river is a positive impact," Murillo said. "It helps protect our endangered species. We've got two of those in the San Marcos River. It helps keeps our parks pristine. It helps keep that water clean as well."
There are designated areas further away from the riverbanks where people are allowed to have single-use containers and larger coolers. Those areas are called "go zones" and are mostly public park spaces with tables and benches.
Areas on and close to the river are "no zones."
The city is working on putting up signage to let people know where each zone is and also has an interactive map to help people see whether the area they are in is a "go zone" or a "no zone."