As Fort Worth commuters drove down Interstate 30 and Interstate 35 this winter, they might have experienced an unfamiliar sight: green-vested workers picking up litter on weekdays along the roads.
The crews are part of Fort Worth’s renewed efforts to clean up the city, especially in high-visibility areas. Following a 90-day pilot program starting last winter, the city plans to expand its trash collection state highways and ramps.
“It’s made a significant, great improvement. It’s been visibly noticed within the city,” said Oneil Johnson, Fort Worth environmental services superintendent, who oversees litter control operations. “Throughout that process, we collected 116,000 pounds of litter along the green spaces and the highways.”
Fort Worth will spend an additional $727,517 to hire litter pickup workers from UpSpire, an agency providing job opportunities to people experiencing homelessness or struggling with other barriers to employment. The city’s annual contract with UpSpire, run by the nonprofit Presbyterian Night Shelter, now amounts to about $2.6 million.
The additional funds will support cleanups along highways as well as other areas designated by the city’s Neighborhood Improvement Program, said Cody Whittenburg, interim environmental services director.City Council members approved the move during their April 23 meeting.
While the Texas Department of Transportation is responsible for maintaining highways, city officials recognized the chance to fill in the gaps and increase the frequency of cleanups, Johnson said.
The cleanup program has brought TxDOT staff to the table to meet with city departments more consistently, Whittenburg said. While TxDOT used to meet with city staff on a quarterly basis, they now gather monthly to discuss issues and opportunities for collaboration.
“We’re able to not only address some of the litter concerns and some of the long-range plans that they have for the highway system and their contractors, but also talk about emergency management, talk about highway lighting and other components in a singular meeting,” Whittenburg said. “It’s been a really, really positive experience from our perspective.”
The pilot program targeted 331 acres, covering southern Interstate 35 West between downtown and Interstate 20 and western Interstate 30 between downtown and Loop 820. Now, Johnson plans to clean up portions of eastern Interstate 30, U.S. Highway 287 between Interstate 20 and Interstate 30 and, in the future, segments of Interstate 20.
“We want to make sure we’re equitable throughout the city and addressing litter on all of our highways,” Johnson said. “This was kind of a starting point to see how it worked, and it’s been very successful.”
Residents won’t see that full expansion until the city’s next budget year, which begins in October, Whittenburg said. The contract increase will allow UpSpire’s two crews to hit some litter hotspots on other highways, but council members will need to approve more funding to hire full-time crews, he said.
City staff have already begun working on budget priorities for 2025. Those conversations will likely be influenced by the 2023 community survey results, which asked 1,725 residents for their views on city services.
Nearly half of respondents reported dissatisfaction with litter services — one of the highest dissatisfaction rates across all survey categories, which included public safety, transportation and parks. Residents identified the cleanliness of major city streets and public areas and how well litter is kept under control as top priorities for city staff over the next two years.
It may be too early to know what the future of Fort Worth’s highway cleanup program looks like, Whittenburg said, but the city is grateful for the partnership it has had with TxDOT so far. As budget priorities are determined, he sees opportunities for more collaboration.
“Hopefully there’s ways to work together and to also just support a greater impetus, if you will, to keep the highway systems clean,” Whittenburg said.
Haley Samsel is the environmental reporter for the Fort Worth Report. You can reach them at haley.samsel@fortworthreport.org.
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