Innovation Parks and Recreation

We counted 4,553 pieces of litter in Eldridge Park. Here’s how you can help lower that number.

crushed plastic bottle on green park grass

To understand the severity of the litter in Eldridge Park, City of Sugar Land staff counted and categorized (and threw away) every piece of litter they found for four Mondays in a row.

With this data, the Department of Innovation and Office of Information Technology were able to analyze locations in the park where trash receptacles were needed and then worked with the Parks and Recreation Department to place new trash receptacles so park goers are never too far from one.

“We wanted to get an exact count to understand the severity of the situation,” said Innovation Strategist Sabrina Abdulla. “By creating this dashboard, we can make sure our solutions are tailored exactly to the park’s needs, saving time and money.”

With this interactive map, you can explore the findings. At the bottom under “Litter Type Counts”, you’ll see the litter divided into categories, like bottle caps, paper, Styrofoam or tobacco products. By clicking over to “Percentages,” you’ll get the data shown by percentages.

There is also a map of the park with every piece of litter geotagged on it. You can zoom in and out to see exactly where each piece of litter was found.

“By using ArcGIS QuickCapture, an app for rapid data collection, we could show the exact type and location of the litter,” said GIS Specialist Trevor Surface.

“Now that there are even more receptacles in the park, we’re hoping park visitors can do their part in keeping Eldridge looking its best,” said Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation William Hajdik.

If you’d like to play an active role in keeping our parks pristine, visit: http://www.sugarlandtx.gov/CleanParks.

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