TCEQ Conference and TEEA Banquet

This was the first year during the pandemic I attended the Environmental Trade Fair and Conference (ETFC) hosted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Ironically, I worked for TCEQ for the Take Care of Texas program during the initial years of the pandemic which shut down the conference – so I was never able to attend while working for the agency.

I attended the first day of the conference as an exhibitor with Texas Disposal Systems. I worked the booth alongside a couple salesmen and really enjoyed speaking with guests and handing out promotional items.

Throughout the day attendees would come in waves between educational sessions. According the the ETFC website, ““Agency staff [led] over 100 courses and discussions at Trade Fair. Topics included air and water permitting, oil and gas, industrial and solid waste management, compliance and enforcement, and remediation programs.”

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EarthX 2022

EarthX is one of my favorite environmental events in Texas! I’ve attended EarthX years prior to the pandemic and loved every experience. This environmental conference is held in Dallas, Texas, and invites people and organizations from across the world. Its part educational in-person conference and exhibitor hall, and part film festival.

This year EarthX was held at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center downtown. Usual the event is hosted at the State Fairgrounds, but was relocated for in-person attendance during the pandemic. I met up with a friend and we took the DART rail to the convention center as a greener travel method.

We started off looking at international environmental art submissions. A lot of these art pieces were beautiful and represented environmental and regional concerns. We had the opportunity to publicly vote on our favorites too.

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Austin FC and TDS Earth Day

I wasn’t able to attend the Texas Disposal Systems booth for Earth Day at Austin FC’s game day at Q2 Stadium. However, my coworkers told me the game I created for our booth was super popular and had the longest wait line of all the vendor booths!

The game I proposed was a “Sort and Toss” cornhole-style game. Participants would spin a wheel with various forms of waste, then toss a bean bag into the corresponding and correct waste bin for a prize.

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Fiesta San Antonio 2022

My company, Texas Disposal Systems, supplied the portable restrooms and fencing for Fiesta in San Antonio. The festival provided TDS employees with free tickets and a VIP table for NIOSA (Night in Old San Antonio). I went with the marketing department as part of team bonding.

This was my first time attending Fiesta in San Antonio. I was taken back by the scale of the event. We made our way over to the VIP tables to watch the annual float parade. However, the festival incorporated the entire city!

What is Fiesta?

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Rodeo Austin and Waste Wrangling

This was my first experience at Rodeo Austin. My fairground passes were free through my job at Texas Disposal Systems, since we were a major partner offering waste and site services. The site services being restroom units and trailers, along with handwashing stations. I did not attend the official rodeo events, but I did enjoy the carnival foods, exhibition shows, and livestock competition judging. I also took photos of the restrooms and handwashing stations to use for social media, webpages, and general sales materials.

Check out this short commercial about the 2022 Rodeo Austin event. See highlights from the live music concerts, rodeo competition events, carnival attraction rides, and fun livestock interactions!

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TDS Christmas Tree-cycling and Wreaths Across America

Texas Disposal Systems offers holiday-related organics processing under two major programs: (1) Christmas Tree Recycling and (2) Wreaths Across America support.

Every year TDS opens up their facilities for free Tree Recycling and holiday organic waste disposal. This includes live Christmas Trees and wreaths, as well as any left over pumpkins. Residents can visit their regional facility or the main landfill in Creedmoor to drop off their trees and organics. From there, we process the trees through chippers into high-quality, rich products like mulch or compost. These products are sold via the Garden-Ville retail centers back into the local community.

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