“Take Out” Catastrophe - Trash Challenge

By Kai Neuberger

Throughout quarantine, many people have spent their days walking about neighborhoods or areas nearby to gain some amount of time outside. Yet, while walking, I noticed take-out boxes littering the sides of the road. Certain key aspects our earth are healing from quarantine, such as the Ozone layer, but there remains many things, like litter, that continue to plague our world. 

So, let's do our part to clean up.

At my workplace, Slim Chickens, we all do our part to try and keep our land litter-free. Not only do we sweep parking lots— we pick up the trash from the area behind our store as well. 

After the storm on April 28th, 2020, litter had blown all over. At least, the sky looked pretty!

This is one of the areas I passed on my walk; it was completely filled with litter. So, I gathered two of my friends with masks and gloves, and we set out to clean it up.

It was much dirtier than we thought, and we ended up having to venture through the bamboo, surrounding trees, and water.

Since we found more trash than what had been originally expected, we brought bags and buckets for backup and had to make two trips for more. 

After collecting as much as possible in the four hours we were there, this is the after photo!

Together, we collected seven bags and four buckets full of trash.

My group and I fully intend to gather more people (when safely possible) and make this a regular thing. Maybe the next time you’re out walking, you’ll grab a trash bag and pick up litter as you go! Remember to wear gloves, though, as you don’t know what you may find. Plus, it helps to keep your hands clean!

A special thanks to Slim Chickens for donating their empty pickle buckets to this cause.