District of Conservation: Clean Water Isn’t Political—It’s Practical

I recently had the pleasure of joining Gabriella Hoffman on her podcast, District of Conservation, to talk about clean water. Gabriella has long been a strong voice for commonsense conservation, and our conversation dove into why clean water shouldn’t be a partisan issue. No one—Democrat or Republican—wants litter-filled streams.

We talked about how our organization takes a different approach—focusing on free-market solutions that don’t rely on new taxes or top-down mandates. One of the best examples? A container refund program. It’s simple: consumers get a small deposit back when they return beverage containers, creating an incentive to reduce litter and increase recycling. This model is working wonders in states like Michigan and Maine, and even better in countries like Germany and Lithuania.

Gabriella was especially interested in how this model helps protect waterways from plastic pollution without putting an added burden on families or small businesses. We agree: protecting Texas rivers and lakes shouldn’t require another layer of bureaucracy. It should be about results, and refund programs deliver—boosting recycling rates by up to six times while reducing the amount of trash in our streets and streams.

Give the episode a listen to learn how Texans for Clean Water is helping to bring people together—conservationists, business leaders, and policymakers—to solve real problems with real solutions. Because when it comes to clean water, we shouldn’t let politics muddy the waters.