On Sept. 19, the San Marcos City Council supported the idea of a single-use container ban at all city parks.
The ban would rid of single-use plastics in city parks including the San Marcos River. Residents from neighboring communitiesattended the council meeting with opinions to ensure the ban passed. Councilmember Jude Prather supported to move forward with this plan in hopes to make a brighter future for everyone.
“Let’s do it,” Prather said. “Let’s leave behind a legacy of a greener future.”
Neighboring cities such as New Braunfels and Martindale, both imposed a “can ban” to prevent river conditions from getting worse. Martindale created this decree five years ago and has received positive feedback.
Martindale City Council member, Mike McClabb led the “can ban” campaign in 2018. McClabb discussed his personal motives for enforcing this outlaw.
“We all we all have a right to use the river, but we don’t have a right to throw trash in it,” McClabb said.
McClabb recalls attempting to work with the Water Oriented Recreational District and how challenging it is to clean the bottom of the river.
“The best solution is don’t allow it to even enter the water,” McClabb said. “Once it gets into the river, it’s almost impossible to get out.”
The City of Martindale has given out three tickets this past summer.
“I would say 95% of the people have really complied and they understand,” Martindale Mayor, Katherine Glaze said. “Mostly everybody does want to keep the river environmentally sound.”
Resident of Martindale, Tom Goynes doesn’t feel the new ban would be hard to enforce in San Marcos.
“I mean, it isn’t rocket science, it’s not hard to enforce, and the bottom line is once the law is in effect, people learn,” Goynes said.
Mark Gleason says even though the process may be long, he hopes to have this ban officially decided on by the end of the year and enacted by spring 2024.
“This is going to take some work, by everyone, on how we are going to implement this, what this is going to look like, what this is going to cost,” Gleason said. “I’m hoping we can get this done in the next couple of months, so we can implement this next year.”
