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San Antonio River Authority
100 East Guenther St.
San Antonio, Texas 78204

Phone: 210-227-1373
Fax: 210-227-4323

Emergency or after hours:
210-302-4200

Contact Us

Public Information

The San Antonio River Authority wants to remind you that illegal dumping is a crime. While you might not know right off hand what to do with oversized trash like old tires, dumping it on the roadside or in the river is never the right thing to do.

In addition to the potential environmental concerns caused by illegal dumping in the floodplain, dumping can also cause blockage/conveyance issues which can exacerbate flooding issues in the immediate area around the dumping and it can also cause similar flooding issues downstream as the dumping is moved during heavy rain events.

Here are a few eye-opening facts and figures from EPA regarding probably the biggest problem of oversized trash which is old tires.

  • The U.S. generates 290 million scrap tires each year.
  • Those 290 million scrap tires represent two percent of the entire solid waste stream.
  • There are more than 265 million tires in stockpiles around the country.

The good news on scrap tires is that the tire industry does recycle old tires. You can make fuel and other new rubber products out of old tires. Something good can come of all those scrap tires. As for the other oversized trash, that needs to be taken to a legal dump site. You can haul it yourself or call a company for that service. There are several companies in San Antonio that will do the job for you.

The San Antonio River Authority has some easy steps for you to follow to properly dispose of your used tires and other oversized trash.

  1. Leave used tires with a reputable tire dealer (a small fee is usually charged for this service).
  2. If you are a resident of the City of San Antonio, call 311 to find out when the next large item trash removal day in your neighborhood will be.
  3. To report illegal dumping in:
    San Antonio city limits: call 311 or contact the city’s Strom Water Operations manager at 210-207-6597.
    Bexar County: call the Bexar County Infrastructure Services at 210-335-6700.

    If there is an environmental concern you would like investigated in and along the rivers and creeks, contact SARA’s environmental investigation coordinator, Ronnie Hernandez at 210-302-3609 or click here to send an email

  4. Look in the phone book or on local websites for “trash haulers” or “garbage removal.” You’ll find several companies you can hire to come out and dispose of your oversized trash properly. Below are some local companies to consider:

    Waste Management, www.wm.com, 210-648-6006
    Texas Disposal Systems, www.texasdisposal.com, 210-483-1900
    Clear Your Clutter, www.clearyourclutter.com, 210-681-1700
    C6 Disposal, www.c-6disposal.com, 210-375-0066
    Tiger Sanitation Inc, www.tigersanitation.com, 210-648-2014
    ASAP hauling, 210-650-4747
    Alamo Dumpster, 210-658-0487
    Anaconda Disposal LLC, 210-310-0548

You can make a difference and help Keep our River Clean.

If you’ve heard of other ways to get rid of old tires and other oversized trash properly, send us a note. We appreciate the help.

Bottled water has had the largest growth among all beverages including alcohol and soft drinks. There were 3.3 billion water bottles purchased in 1997 and around 30 billion purchased in 2005. Plastic bottles, while convenient to use, can find their way into storm drains and ultimately our creeks and rivers if they are not recycled or properly thrown away. Here are few pertinent facts about plastic bottles and the environmental problems they can cause.

  • Eight out of ten plastic water bottles are not recycled and go to a landfill.
  • If not disposed of properly, plastic bottles and other trash can wind up in our rivers and creeks.
  • It takes over 1.5 million barrels of oil to manufacture a year’s supply of bottled water. That is equivalent to enough fuel for 100,000 automobiles.
  • It takes several hundred years for a plastic bottle to decompose.

The San Antonio River Authority wants to remind you that our community is investing more than $300 million to enhance the natural beauty of the San Antonio River. So anytime you use any type of plastic containers, especially plastic bottles, please make sure those recyclable materials find their way to the right place—the recycle bin.

Plastic labeled #1 through #7 is recyclable

No. 1: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET, PETE), the most widely recycled plastic, is used for soft-drink bottles and is also commonly found in textiles, which explains why a bottle can be turned into fleece.
No. 2: High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is used for detergent bottles and grocery bags.
No. 3: Polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl) is what salad-bar containers are made from.
No. 4: Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is used for dry-cleaning and fresh-produce bags.
No. 5: Polypropylene (PP) is what makes bottle caps, yogurt cups, and drinking straws.
No. 6: Polystyrene (PS) is also known as Styrofoam.
No. 7: “other” plastics, such as polycarbonate baby bottles.

The City of San Antonio has an extensive recycling program. To learn more about the City of San Antonio’s recycling program, please visit: http://www.sanantonio.gov/swmd/solidwaste/recycling.asp

For those who do not live within the San Antonio City Limits, below are a few options:

If you’ve heard of other ways to reduce plastic pollution and encourage recycling, send us a note. We appreciate the help.

Fast food containers are everywhere. They’re very handy and keep food and drinks properly hot or cold. But, those same containers are light and can very easily blow away. Here are few facts about those containers we commonly refer to as “Styrofoam.”

  • Styrofoam is non-biodegradable. It takes hundreds of years for Styrofoam to decompose.
  • Styrofoam is difficult to recycle. Recycling plants for Styrofoam are fairly uncommon.
  • Americans throw away 25,000,000,000 Styrofoam coffee cups every year (that’s just coffee cups). Attach those cups end to end and you’d circle the earth 436 times.
  • Styrofoam that blows away into parking lots or streets can find its way into our rivers and creeks.

With fast paced lifestyles, people are going to use Styrofoam daily. The best thing you can do to make sure that it goes to the landfill and not our rivers and creeks is to dispose of it properly. Make sure you secure those Styrofoam containers in the trash when you throw them away. That very simple act can go a long way in keeping our environment free from pollution.

If going from one meeting to another, feel free to bring your own travel coffee mug. Two reasons it works, 1.) You can pour as much as you want and 2.) It keeps you from using the Styrofoam cups.

You can make a difference and help Keep our River Clean.

If you’ve heard of other ways to reduce fast food container pollution, send us a note. We appreciate the help.

Here are a few real facts about the use of plastic bags and how they can cause pollution.

  • In the United States, we use 100 billion plastic shopping bags per year and less than 1% of those bags are recycled.
  • It takes more than 20 million barrels of oil to produce those 100 billion plastic bags. In today’s oil market that cost is $2 billion.
  • Petroleum based plastic breaks into tiny particles and can contaminate soil in waterways.

If not properly recycled or disposed of, plastic bags can blow out of trashcans, cars, store parking lots and many other places. They float down streets to drainage ditches which ultimately flow into the river. It takes a while, but those persistent plastic polluters get there.

Fortunately, the San Antonio River Authority has some easy steps for you to follow to help prevent plastic bag pollution.

  1. Reduce your use.  Carry reusable bags everywhere you shop.
  2. Recycle.  Many local grocery stores provide plastic bag recycling bins.
  3. Reuse.  Be creative.  Find a way to reuse a plastic bag before recycling or throwing it away.
  4. Be a good neighbor.  Pick up those wayward bags when you see them.

  1. Tiny trash can liner
  2. Doggy Duty
  3. Water Balloon
  4. Road Trip trash
  5. Dirty gym clothes
  6. Ice Pack
  7. Kitty litter liner
  8. Lunch bag
  9. Care package padding
  10. RETURN TO YOUR LOCAL GROCERY STORE FOR RECYCLING**
    **currently, the City of San Antonio’s recycling program is not equipped to handle plastic bags.

You can make a difference and help Keep our River Clean.

If you’ve heard of other ways to reduce plastic bag pollution, send us a note. We appreciate the help.