SAN MARCOS, Texas -- As some head to the San Marcos River for the holiday weekend, the city is educating visitors about keeping the river clean.

In the past, there have been issues with bags of trash being left at the park.

The City of San Marcos, along with Keep San Marcos Beautiful and the Habitat Conservation Plan began their education initiative last year, swapping out Styrofoam for plastic cups and paper plates. Although the trash issue has improved, the main issue now is micro-litter, such as twist-ties, water bottle caps, and hair ties that have been found in and around the river.

"We know that the river is the life force of our city and we would like to keep it that way, so we kind of explain how the material will break up in small pieces and fish and turtle and birds might mistake it for food, so really it's an educational process to help people be responsible patrons of our park and river,” said Amy Kirwin.

A list of rules for the river can be found at the Tour San Marcos website.