The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) would like to extend a congratulations to the City of Fort Worth as winner of the first annual North Texas Community Cleanup Challenge and Mayors’ Challenge! Through a combination of 43 individual efforts and organized cleanup events, the City of Fort Worth logged an impressive 9,484 hours by 1,562 volunteers. All told, Fort Worth residents cleaned up and reported 2,886 bags of trash and litter for an estimated 27,626 pounds during the North Texas Community Cleanup Challenge (NTCCC) contest period.
The North Texas Community Cleanup Challenge is a region-wide litter cleanup challenge between cities which ran between September 1st and October 31st this year. As part of the NTCCC, communities competed to see who could cumulatively clean up the most litter during the designated timeframe. A total of twenty-one communities across the region signed on to the North Texas Community Cleanup Challenge, including the cities of: Allen, Anna, Arlington, Carrollton, Cleburne, Denton, Ennis, Fort Worth, Frisco, Garland, Grand Prairie, Grapevine, Greenville, Irving, Lake Dallas, Little Elm, Lucas, Mansfield, Mesquite, Plano, and Rowlett. Additionally, the cities of Anna, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie and Mansfield also competed in the optional Mayors’ Challenge by having their mayors issue proclamations urging residents and businesses to get involved.
A total of 405 locations across North Texas were cleaned by the region’s residents who logged 19,634 volunteer hours combined. A total of 7,665 bags of litter and trash were collected and reported, which is equivalent to between 65,775 and 78,670 pounds. Plastic bottles ranked the highest of items collected, reported participants.
While Fort Worth is taking home the trophies, the region as a whole has benefitted from the collective efforts of all those involved. Our local communities and environments are cleaner, healthier, and more beautiful thanks to the efforts of all those who donated their time and efforts picking up litter from our environment.
To learn more about the NTCCC, please visit http://www.communitycleanupchallenge.com/. Also please save the dates of March, April, and May 2022 for the second annual North Texas Community Cleanup Challenge and Mayors’ Challenge.