How to Report Littering in Austin
It is almost impossible to go for a walk and not find at least one piece of trash on the ground, this counts not only for Austin but for anywhere really. As a lover of nature who wants nothing more than to see the City I live in stay beautiful and thriving, the amount of litter I see scattered throughout the streets and parks is incredibly disheartening. To a lot of people, dropping a bottle of water on the ground doesn’t seem like a huge deal, but those people likely never thought to consider the small animal that might find itself trapped inside that bottle with nowhere to go or the fact that the bottle could very well find its way into the lakes and oceans around us. This poses a threat to the lives of the creatures living in the water as well as the quality of the drinking water that makes its way into our very own homes. It is important for each of us to do what we can in order to keep trash in the trash cans where it belongs, and ensure we make Austin clean by picking up trash and litter.
My Story
It was early one morning when I was out for a walk in my neighborhood in Bouldin Creek. I found myself taking in all of the beauty that nature had to offer around me and breathing in the fresh Austin air. I noticed a squirrel off to the side scrounging around in a discarded bag of potato chips and it hit me just how careless we as a society had gotten in regards to litter and maintaining our environment. A small chip bag may seem to some like a non-issue, but the fact was it wasn’t just a bag of chips. The bag of chips was symbolic to the masses of garbage that are left on the ground and in the water every single day. The squirrel was representing all of the beautiful wildlife that is put at risk every time someone decides to drop their trash on the ground instead of finding a proper place to dispose of it. I decided then that I needed to find a way to report the litter issue in my community before it was too late.
There is litter everywhere, but did you know that there are resources available for you to report incidents of excessive trash and illegal dumping in your community?
Where To Report Excessive Trash and Illegal Dumping
While you may not be able to report normal instances of litter, you can use 311.org for reporting excessive trash and illegal dumping under Austin Resource Recovery, Special Services for the city to support collecting it. If trash is at a construction site or near creeks or water it can be reported as an environmental complaint, that way it gets routed to the correct group. There are ambassadors available 24 hours a day to help address your concerns and help find a solution. If you find yourself coming across a case of excessive trash or illegal dumping in your surrounding area, 3-1-1 is a very valuable resource that is available to you.
If everyone in Austin took just a couple minutes out of each day to pick up a few pieces of trash on the ground, the impact that they would have on the community would be astronomical. We all have the power to make a difference, how will you do your part?