news & announcements
Report: Texas criteria for polluted site cleanup ‘significantly weaker’ than neighboring states
Texas Tribune: A new report says the standards Texas uses to determine how much — and whether — to clean up contaminated sites are ‘significantly weaker’ than those of neighboring states and the federal government.
Environmental groups speak out at hearing on Exxon air quality permit
KIIITV News: A hearing was held by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Thursday aimed at finding out just how much opposition to the project there is.
Twisting Tale Toward a Zero Waste Houston
From our blog: Last week Houston City Council voted to hire a company that will help local officials create and adopt a long-range waste and recycling plan. This huge victory was years in the making, and it could put Houston on a path toward Zero Waste!
Op-Ed: Why Texas should ban plastic bags
Houston Chronicle Op-Ed: Plastic pollution is a serious problem. Let’s stop holding on so tightly to plastic bags — we’re better without them, and there’s no time like the present to act.
Starbucks is replacing plastic straws with ‘sippy cup’ lids
CBS Austin: Starbucks announced on Monday it’s getting rid of its instantly recognizable green plastic straws, which contribute to ocean pollution and can be dangerous to marine life.
Austin Says It Will No Longer Enforce Plastic Bag Ban, After Texas Supreme Court Ruling
KUT News Austin: The City of Austin says it will no longer enforce a ban on single-use plastic bags at most retail outlets, following a state Supreme Court ruling last month that struck down Laredo’s bag ban.
Dallas requires apartments to offer recycling by 2020
GreenSource DFW: If you live in an apartment or a condominium in Dallas, you must have access to recycling. That’s the law, after Dallas City Council voted unanimously to require all multi-family complexes to provide recycling by 2020.
Dallas Expands Recycling to Multifamily Buildings
NBC News DFW: Dallas apartments and other multifamily dwellings must provide recycling for residents by January 2020 under new rules unanimously approved Wednesday by the Dallas City Council.
At long last, all Dallas apartments will have to offer recycling
Dallas Morning News: The City Council voted unanimously to approve the new recycling mandate, which is meant to help push Dallas toward its “zero-waste” goals and divert materials from landfills.
Most Austin city parks lack recycling though donations funded bins in biggest parks
Politifact: TCE’s handout says that “as many as 293 out of 300” Austin city “parks have no recycling, including almost every neighborhood park.” We rate the statement TRUE.