ZeroTrash
Last January, it finally got to me.
I live in the downtown area of a relatively small city; it has a lot of the problems that any normal metropolitan area would, but most of them are far less severe than in larger cities. The one that started catching my attention: litter.
This was a gradual process...like a nagging feeling in the back of your mind. I kept seeing people's old Starbucks cups and fast food wrappers on the group. There weren't a lot of them, and I realized that it would be pretty easy for one person to make a dent in how much litter is on the streets and sidewalks.
And so, I went to a local hardware store, bought a broom and upright dustpan, and started picking up litter. An hour here and there, about once a month.
My reason for doing this is selfish: it's good exercise, and I can't stand going to the gym. I've never been much of an environmentalist, but I do live about a mile away from the Pacific, so maybe my actions will keep stuff out of the ocean. (And admittedly, the whole Great Pacific Garbage Patch thing has always creeped me out.)
For the last few months, I've had a post running on Craigslist telling people what I'm doing, along with an open invitation for anyone to join me if they so pleased. So far, I've had no takers, a fact by which I'm neither surprised nor disappointed...more for me.
I discovered yesterday that this wasn't my idea; about three years ago, a guy named Chip McDermott started doing it up in Laguna. Up there, it's a full blown grassroots movement to keep the streets free of litter, and a whole non-profit organization called ZeroTrash has been started around the efforts of many. It's happening in LA and in San Diego, too.
So, I've decided to start calling myself ZeroTrash Santa Barbara, and I started a blog (the 20th one I've started this year, I think) and a Facebook page. I didn't get the permission of the official ZeroTrash organization, so we'll see how they react once they find out I'm using their name.
I'm hopeful this changes things. Maybe people will have an easier time pitching in to help an organization with a social media presence, instead of just some anonymous guy on Craigslist claiming he's picking up garbage.
I live in the downtown area of a relatively small city; it has a lot of the problems that any normal metropolitan area would, but most of them are far less severe than in larger cities. The one that started catching my attention: litter.
This was a gradual process...like a nagging feeling in the back of your mind. I kept seeing people's old Starbucks cups and fast food wrappers on the group. There weren't a lot of them, and I realized that it would be pretty easy for one person to make a dent in how much litter is on the streets and sidewalks.
And so, I went to a local hardware store, bought a broom and upright dustpan, and started picking up litter. An hour here and there, about once a month.
My reason for doing this is selfish: it's good exercise, and I can't stand going to the gym. I've never been much of an environmentalist, but I do live about a mile away from the Pacific, so maybe my actions will keep stuff out of the ocean. (And admittedly, the whole Great Pacific Garbage Patch thing has always creeped me out.)
For the last few months, I've had a post running on Craigslist telling people what I'm doing, along with an open invitation for anyone to join me if they so pleased. So far, I've had no takers, a fact by which I'm neither surprised nor disappointed...more for me.
I discovered yesterday that this wasn't my idea; about three years ago, a guy named Chip McDermott started doing it up in Laguna. Up there, it's a full blown grassroots movement to keep the streets free of litter, and a whole non-profit organization called ZeroTrash has been started around the efforts of many. It's happening in LA and in San Diego, too.
So, I've decided to start calling myself ZeroTrash Santa Barbara, and I started a blog (the 20th one I've started this year, I think) and a Facebook page. I didn't get the permission of the official ZeroTrash organization, so we'll see how they react once they find out I'm using their name.
I'm hopeful this changes things. Maybe people will have an easier time pitching in to help an organization with a social media presence, instead of just some anonymous guy on Craigslist claiming he's picking up garbage.