Arlington and Mansfield are tapped to receive over $160,000 in state funds to clean up streets and provide recycling to more residents.
The North Central Texas Council of Governments received 17 applications from several local governments to gain a portion of the $1 million available through the agency’s solid waste budget.
Applicants included the cities of Mansfield, Arlington, Arlington ISD and Wise and Parker counties.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality allocates funds into the council of governments’ solid waste program every two years for the agency to distribute across the region.
Of the eight grant awards approved by the council of governments’ executive board in September, Arlington officials will receive $87,725 for its recycling program, “Bridging the Gap in Recycling Access: Increasing Access at Older Multi-Family Properties.”
The program was launched to expand recycling services to Arlington residents living in apartment complexes constructed before 2018, according to application documents.
These properties are not required by city ordinance to provide recycling services. That leaves thousands of residents in underserved neighborhoods without access to services that would divert trash away from Arlington’s waste stream, the grant states.
Arlington houses one of three landfills that collects trash from eight counties in North Texas. The city’s landfill has another thirty years of life thanks to a project in 2014 that expanded the site.
As for Mansfield, the city was awarded a $75,000 grant to launch its first litter abatement program.
The grant will help city officials collect roadside litter and trash prompted by Mansfield’s growing population, said Howard Redfearn, environmental public works assistant director.
“We’re not a small community anymore,” Redfearn said. “Over the past couple of years, we received enough complaints that we felt we could justify that action needed to be taken.”
City staffers address roadside litter through clean up events throughout the year, made possible by Keep Mansfield Beautiful Commission’s volunteer program.
“That’s just not cutting it, even though those volunteers work very hard to maintain them,” public education manager Lindsey Tashman said.
The grant will help Mansfield officials address six high-litter areas and create a heat map of the city. The map will feature information such as the amount of trash bags or pounds of trash per mile to help officials determine other problem areas.
Residents can expect the litter abatement project to take effect in January.
Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.
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