A public-private partnership is working to keep Houston’s Buffalo Bayou clean and green. The year-round program, spearheaded by Port Commissioner Elyse Lanier, is an environmental initiative that uses community service workers through the Harris County Supervision and Corrections Department to clean up litter and debris.

Five days a week, a land-based crew collects litter and debris from the banks of the waterway, while a waterborne crew works from a skimmer boat to clean storm drains, banks and other natural collection areas. Aiming to collect more than 10 cubic yards of debris a day over the next year — enough to fill 83 garbage trucks — the program focuses on a seven-mile stretch of the bayou.

Shell Oil Company anchors the Clean & Green Port of Houston Program as major corporate partner. Public agency partners are the Port of Houston Authority, Buffalo Bayou Partnership, Greater East End Management District, Harris County Constable Precinct 6, Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department and the Harris County Flood Control District. Other program partners are The Ogg Law Firm, Vista Fibers Company and Williams Brothers Construction Company.

Get the facts at www.buffalobayou.org.