Got a plastic water bottle or shopping bag cluttering up your car? This weekend, it could be your ticket into two North Texas nature attractions for free. Through Sunday, the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary are both waiving admission for guests who show up with a clean, single-use plastic bottle or bag to recycle.
How the Deal Works at Each Location
At the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, each guest who brings one single-use plastic bag or plastic bottle gets in free, according to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. The offer runs Nov. 13 through Nov. 15, but the Garden notes the free admission is only valid for the day the item is brought in and cannot be redeemed on another date. The Garden is known for its rose garden, Japanese garden and other outdoor spaces, giving visitors plenty to explore once they're through the gate.
The Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary, also known for its 289-acre nature preserve and indoor exhibits, is running a similar promotion. Per the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary, each visitor who brings a plastic bottle or single-use plastic bag from any retailer receives free admission, as long as the item is clean and dry. The Heard also says its members don't need an event ticket to take part.
Hours and a Saturday Wrinkle in Fort Worth
Visitors planning a Saturday trip to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden should take note: the Garden will be closed until noon on Nov. 14 for a private event, meaning the free-admission window that day effectively starts at midday. The Heard, meanwhile, is keeping more conventional hours, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Nov. 13 and Nov. 14, then shifting to 1 to 5 p.m. on Nov. 15.
Anyone heading to the Heard this weekend can also catch Dinosaurs Live!, an exhibit the museum says will remain open through March 1, 2027, giving families a reason to make a return trip even after the recycling promotion wraps up.
A Statewide Push Tied to H-E-B
The promotion is part of Texas Recycles Day, an initiative sponsored by H-E-B meant to encourage recycling and environmental conservation. A search-result snippet from the H-E-B Newsroom describes the same Nov. 13-15 offer, telling individual visitors to bring one recyclable plastic bottle or single-use plastic bag to a participating center.
This isn't H-E-B's first run at the promotion. In 2024, the grocery chain partnered with 17 centers across Texas and collected more than 23,000 pieces of plastic from nearly 11,000 visitors, according to The Shelby Report. The report also described an event running Nov. 14-16 across 18 nature centers statewide, including the Heard, I-20 Wildlife Preserve and the Fort Worth Botanic Garden among its North/West region participants. H-E-B has also funneled nearly $400,000 into 2026 Community Recycling Grants for centers in Carrizo Springs, Columbus, Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Port Arthur, and the report noted that more than 2,100 volunteers pulled nearly 35,000 pounds of trash from waterways during a springtime cleanup push.
A separate report from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram detailed a similar Fort Worth Botanic Garden offer running Nov. 14 through Nov. 16, for guests bringing a clean plastic bottle or single-use plastic bag. That report noted the Garden's standard adult admission normally runs $12 to $15, with children's tickets priced between $6 and $9 — a detail that underscores just how much visitors stand to save by showing up with something to toss in the recycling bin.
As NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth reported, the weekend promotion gives North Texas families an easy, low-cost way to spend time outdoors while clearing out recyclables that might otherwise end up in the trash.
