Volunteers at the Cowtown Great American Cleanup pick up trash near a section of the Trinity River in March 2022. Photo by Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report.
By NICOLE LOPEZ, FORT WORTH REPORT
June 13, 2025
Fort Worth is halfway toward leaders’ goal of collecting 20 million pounds of litter by the end of 2025.
Between city staff, contractors and volunteers, 9,528,795 pounds of litter were collected from October 2024 to March, according to a June 3 report presented to City Council members.
About 19.6 million pounds of litter were collected in 2024. The 20 million pounds of litter would be a 2 percent pickup increase from the amount of trash and debris collected last year.
Trash and litter collections are minimized during inclement weather conditions, so increased debris collections are anticipated through the remainder of 2025, the report says.
The 9.5 million pounds of trash collected in 2025 so far includes litter from 3,066 illegal dump sites and 1,106 illegal campsites, the data shows.
Through public collection events, staff kept 800 scrap tires from ultimately contributing to litter or illegal dumping.
Scrap tire collection events began in 2024 thanks to a $3,000 grant awarded to the environmental services department from the North Central Texas Council of Governments. The department received an additional $3,000 in January to continue the collections events.
“It is a huge benefit … and we’re looking to increase that dramatically,” Gwynne Turpen, environmental services department assistant director, told the Fort Worth Report in March.
The data also shows Fort Worth’s street sweepers have largely contributed to litter pickups. This comes after Fort Worth leaders spent $3.5 million on a new fleet of 10 street sweepers, in response to resident concerns about litter and the city’s effort to expand cleanups. The new street sweepers officially hit the roads running by September 2024. The trash-collecting vehicles gathered 2.3 million pounds of litter in 2025.
The city’s litter pickup efforts also include an increased number of pickup crews. Up from three crews in 2022, Fort Worth officials deployed 13 crews to work five days a week through a contract with UpSpire, an agency providing job opportunities to those experiencing homelessness or other barriers finding employment.
UpSpire crews also occasionally support the two groups city staff have assigned to clear up campsites, an issue the environmental services department is prioritizing, and assist in clearing the green spaces along Fort Worth’s highways as part of the city’s partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation.
Volunteer group Keep Fort Worth Beautiful and city leaders partner to host the annual Cowtown Great American Cleanup, employing volunteers to pick up litter and trash from the city’s greatest areas of concern. On March 29, 84,813 pounds of litter were collected during the cleanup.
The volunteer group plays a large role in Fort Worth’s “unified effort” to keep Cowtown clean, city spokesperson Lola McCartney told the Report in March.
“This takes everyone working together,” said McCartney.
Aside from the annual cleanup event, Keep Fort Worth Beautiful hosts community cleanups year-round. The group plans to hold community-focused cleanups in Meadowbrook on June 14 and the Ash Crescent neighborhood on Sept. 13.
Another citywide cleanup event, the Neighborhood Litter Stomp, is set for Oct. 16.
For more information on litter pickup events and how to report illegal littering, visit the environmental services department website.
Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.
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