This project will cultivate a sustainable behavior-changing litter prevention program for Gulf of Mexico watersheds within the Coastal Bend of Texas by expanding the Up2U litter prevention program from the headwaters of the Nueces basin to six counties and ten watersheds within the Coastal Bend.

Up2U Litter Bag Up2U Project Partners Litter Bag Distribution Locations UP2U+ Up2U Challenge Media

The Bag

The cornerstone of the program is a yellow mesh litter bag emblazoned with the empowering Up2U message. The bags serves as a tool for trash removal, trash prevention, and outreach. 150,000 litter bags will be distributed during the 5-year project period. 

Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program received financial support from the US EPA under an Assistance Agreement to implement Up2U Litter Prevention Campaign in the Coastal Bend. Up2U is a program of the Nueces River Authority.

Project Partners are key to the success of the Up2U Coastal Campaign! 

Aransas County Navigation District
Center for Coastal Studies
City of Port Aransas
City of Portland
Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program
Coastal Bend Council of Governments
Friends of Padre
Goose Island State Park
Keep Aransas County Beautiful
Lake Corpus Christi State Park
LyondellBasell
Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve
Mustang Island State Park
Nueces County Coastal Parks
Nueces River Authority
Padre Island National Seashore
Port of Corpus Christi Authority
Refugio County
Texas Adopt A Beach
Texas State Aquarium
Valero

Interested in becoming a project partner?  Contact the CBBEP at 361-336-0304 or [email protected].

Map of Distribution Locations

Up2U bags are distributed at manned and unmanned distribution sites hosted by project partners throughout the Coastal Bend.  Use the map to find a location near you!

UP2U+ Targets Illegal Dumping

Up2U PLUS is a program designed to prevent bulk trash from reaching our waterways by targeting illegal dumping in Texas Coastal Bend watersheds. The project removed barriers (e.g., cost, accessibility) that can prevent correct disposal of illegally dumped items by providing disposal dumpsters, cleaning up existing dump sites, and improving community awareness of problems associated with illegal dumping.

Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program received financial support from the US EPA under an Assistance Agreement to implement this project, which served rural communities in the Coastal Bend. Project partners included the Nueces River Authority and the Coastal Bend Council of Governments.  The program ran for three years and ended December 2024.  If you would like further information please contact the CBBEP at 361-336-0311 or [email protected].

When it rains in the Coastal Bend, the rain washes down the streets into the ditches or gutters along the road, but do you know where it goes from there? It makes its way through more ditches or underground pipes and eventually is discharged into the bay. When this happens, the water takes with it all the trash along the way, so all that trash ends up in our bays and estuaries. This is very bad for all the fish and wildlife that live in and near our bays, fish and birds can eat the trash, or become tangled up in it. But you can help by taking the Up2U Challenge!

Grab a litter bag and have your own trash clean up. Every piece of trash you pick up is one less piece that will end up in the bay harming our fish and wildlife. Fill any Up2U bag with trash, have someone take your picture with the bag of trash and share it on social media with the hashtag #Up2UTexas.

click here to Take the Challenge

For more information about the Up2U Litter Prevention Campaign contact the CBBEP at 361-336-0304 or [email protected].

For more information about the Up2U Litter Prevention Campaign or Up2U+ contact the CBBEP at 361-336-0304 or [email protected].

If you are interested in becoming an Up2U distribution partner, please email [email protected] or call 361-779-1803.

© 2025 Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program. Created for free using WordPress and Colibri