Sans Litter Ban, Tubers Trash Rivers in Texas

Back in March, District Judge Don Burgess issued a permanent injunction against a "can ban" on disposable containers and coolers on the Comal and Guadalupe rivers between San Antonio and Austin.

"Following a lawsuit by local tubing and tourism firms, the prohibition was set aside in March by a judge who decided the ban was unconstitutional and ordered the city [of New Braunfels] to stop enforcing it," reports Molly Block.

Now the litter reports are in for Memorial Day, and the results are ugly, to say the least. Compared to 2012 and 2013, when the "can ban" was in place, litter in the river increased by 438 percent, according to numbers from the city’s River Services Update.

Adds Block: "According to the River Services Update, New Braunfels contract scuba divers extracted 242 pounds of river trash during this year’s Memorial Day weekend. Compared to the 45 pounds collected during the same weekend in 2013, the second summer of the can ban, many people are concerned."