The rivers and lakes of Texas provide recreation and beauty, but all too often they can be littered with trash and debris. The Texas Waterway Cleanup Program stands ready to assist communities in efforts to beautify their local environments.

Offering free cleanup supplies, educational materials and promotional support, the Texas Waterway Cleanup Program enables all residents to improve the quality of their lakes, rivers, creeks and wetlands.

A partnership between Keep Texas Beautiful and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the TWCP helps groups of any size host environmental education events and coordinate freshwater-area cleanups and litter-prevention activities. Participants may include schools, government agencies, youth and Scout groups, neighborhoods, businesses or any group of concerned Texans.

"The Texas Waterway Cleanup Program is a great opportunity for Texans to beautify their community at no cost to them," said Keep Texas Beautiful president Terri Caldwell.

"The program supports a wide range of activities and has so many positive effects on water quality, both in reducing pollution and improving the overall appearance of our waterways."

Registrants in the program receive complimentary cleanup supplies such as trash bags, disposable gloves, litter-pickup tools, hand sanitizer, sunscreen, first-aid kits, and youth giveaway items, as well as promotional support.

Last spring, volunteers supported more than 250 cleanup events across the state, with more than 15,000 participants collecting over 897,000 pounds of debris from Texas waterways.

To get more information on the program, to register an event or to find a cleanup in one's area, visit www.ktb.org or phone (800) CLEAN-TX.