A hiker came across a "frustrating" scene beside a trail in the woods and decided to do something about it.
Lisa D (@ldkr5808 on TikTok) posted a video explaining that they and a friend had been on a walk through a woodland park when they crossed a bridge and saw shiny litter scattered everywhere. Their best guess was that it came from a confetti bomb for a photoshoot.
@ldkr5808 Stop littering on my beautiful trails! #leavenotrace #packoutwhatyoupackedin #littering #litterbug ♬ original sound - Lisa D
"It's not even biodegradable; it's plastic…stuff. Who does this?" they asked.
They did their best to clean up as much of the litter as possible, spending an hour-and-a-half picking up the plastic pieces of confetti, though they left some they believed was biodegradable.
"Do better. Leave no trace. Pack out what you pack in, no matter where you're at. Littering is never OK," they reminded their viewers.
Sadly, as California State University, Fullerton assistant professor of public health Mojgan Sami told The Daily Titan, even seemingly small pieces of litter, including confetti, can cause a variety of problems in the ecosystem. It can be ingested by wildlife or wind up in waterways — and eventually the ocean. It can even get into our own food in the form of microplastics.
"These eventually end up in our oceans, in our soils and can have a huge impact on ecological soil health as well as groundwater," Sami said. "It can go from our wonderful celebration all the way to our dinner table."
Thankfully, some places are trying to crack down on the mess created by confetti. The city of Santa Barbara, California — located by the ocean — has a warning on its website that discourages people from using confetti, glitter, and other party items such as silly string, encouraging them to opt for paper confetti only, or even leaves.
Commenters on Lisa D's TikTok praised them for their actions and revealed their own experiences with encountering litter.
One person shared that they'd once received blowback for taking personal responsibility for public outdoor spaces, to which Lisa D encouragingly replied: "Those trails are everyone's and you need to respect them and take care of them! I try my best to keep them beautiful."
"Thank you for being amazing!" one person wrote in the comments, calling the situation "frustrating."
"That makes me furious!!" another wrote. "Thank you for being a good human!!!"
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