The PlayTri Festival comes to Irving every year, bringing hundreds of triathletes who swim, bike and run through Las Colinas, as well as many friends and family who come to support them.  Keep Irving Beautiful began partnering with PlayTri in 2009 to make the festival a “green event” by providing recycling and trash collection stations at the finish area. This year they reduced the waste even more by adding the collection of organic materials. Six volunteers from the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at North Lake College joined KIB staff for a very early 5:30 a.m. start time to help set up the stations as well as a KIB information table with brochures and giveaway items. These volunteers later monitored the collection bins, changing bags when needed and educating attendees about what items could be recycled or composted. They collected 74 pounds of recyclables and 31 pounds of organic materials which were diverted from the landfill.

“KIB’s presence at this event really creates a positive impression of Irving for those who are visiting,” said KIB board member Kelly Horn. “Having the collection stations not only makes the grounds cleaner and litter-free, but it also shows that we care about our environment.  The participants know that we are doing what we can to minimize waste as much as possible and divert items from the landfill.  Being able to collect compostables is a great addition to our services, and many people commented on how much they appreciated what we were doing.  Organizer Staci Brode and PlayTri are fantastic partners to work with, and we are very grateful for the support they have given us over the years.  We would also like to thank the Phi Theta Kappa officers and especially Diana Moreno for all their help today.”

Keep Irving Beautiful is a nonprofit, grassroots, leadership organization dedicated to educating our community about litter abatement, recycling and beautification in order to help preserve the health and promote the social and economic prosperity of our city. As an award winning affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful, Keep Irving Beautiful reaches out to and partners with all sectors of our city including government, business, church, cultural, educational, neighborhood and civic organizations.  If you are interested in volunteering with KIB, please go here, or call the KIB office at 972-721-2175.