One good Samaritan took it upon themselves to clean up a local marsh, but they were met with much more trash than they could handle.
In a video posted to r/DeTrashed, one Redditor showed a 15-second video of the massive amount of trash they found at a waterway near their home.
The video doesn't have any audio, but viewers can see bottles, cans, bread wrappers, and more in the brief clip. The post is captioned, "I'm gonna need a bigger bucket…"
Trash and plastic waste are big issues around the world. According to National Geographic, "Every year, about eight million tons of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations. That's the equivalent of setting five garbage bags full of trash on every foot of coastline around the world." These staggering numbers mean our ecosystems need all the help they can get to stay clean.
Picking up trash is an admirable way to spend your time and is invaluable to the planet. The U.N. wrote on the benefits of collecting litter, "Every piece of trash that is taken away to be recycled or deposited in a landfill means there is one less dangerous item for birds, turtles or whales to swallow."
Picking up trash has even gotten some fun upgrades in the forms of plogging and plalking. Plogging started in Sweden as a combination of jogging and picking up trash and has grown as a way to build community and keep your neighborhood beautiful. Plalking is the walking counterpart to the practice. Take yourself or a group of friends out to the park for a healthy eco-friendly activity.
Commenters on Reddit were impressed with the OP's Herculean efforts.
One person wrote about how tragic the amount of trash was, "Good God. That is insane. Thank you for cleaning it up."
Someone else lamented on how frustrating littering can be, "Why is humankind trashing the whole world?"
🗣️ Do you think America has a plastic waste problem?
🔘 Definitely 👍
🔘 Only in some areas 🫤
🔘 Not really 👎
🔘 I'm not sure 🤷
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Another trash hater was thankful for the OP's efforts, writing, "Thank you so much for all your hard work!"
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
