Pick Up Trash to Celebrate Earth Day Every Day

Earth Day is April 22, but it is also celebrated the entire month. It was first held over 50 years ago in 1970. One way to honor it is to simply pick up trash when you see it lying on the ground.

I don’t know what goes through people’s minds when they thoughtlessly toss garbage without a care in the world. I saw a woman the other day who chucked her plastic water bottle into the bushes near a bus station. It never dawned on her that it was dirtying up the street. I assume she was never a Girl Scout.

I wrote a while back about how I missed the old “Don’t be a Litterbug” campaign many of us Baby Boomers grew up with. It was ingrained into us, and we felt guilty if we didn’t pick up after ourselves. Still, after concerts, fireworks displays, or parades, the grounds get covered with litter even when multiple trashcans are provided.

Trash litters our city streets, parks, and wilderness areas but it takes education to stop it from getting out of control. I believe that is something that has been lost over the years. It must start as soon as a child is old enough to walk and put trash in a can. Keeping our environment clean must be a part of every child’s curriculum at school. If they learn this while they are young, they will never forget it.

Cities are inundated with overcrowding and lack of housing which contributes to more litter on streets and wild areas. I remember going to a CCC camp as a child and we learned how workers during the Depression were taken to the National Parks to do cleanup in exchange for food and housing. That type of program would help people living in tents on the street who have drug problems. They would receive an education in environmental maintenance and live with less stress and mental anguish because they would be out in nature. Just a thought.

It doesn’t take much to help clean up the environment  

• If you have a picnic, go to an outdoor event, camp, or go hiking, always leave the area cleaner than when you left it.
• Put garbage in the proper bins to recycle.
• Don’t dispose of toxic waste improperly.

Keep Nature Wild

Keep Nature Wild is a company that is doing something about beautifying the environment. They have partnered with AllTrails to host 100+ cleanup events with a goal to pick up 1,000,000 pounds of trash. They are getting close to meeting this goal but still need more help.

There are three ways to do this. You can log in to the Keep Nature Wild website and log how much trash you pick up. You can also join a cleanup group that they have organized in your area. The last way is to purchase some of the fun items that are available on the website. The company will pick up one pound of trash for every product sold. This helps to build community and there is always strength in numbers.

If you want to take it even further, you can become a wild keeper ambassador. WKAs are a community of people who love the outdoors and keep the areas they visit free of trash. #wildkeepers

I bought a Keep Nature Wild crossbody bag that I took on a recent trip to Los Cabos. It was perfect for storing my passport, phone, and other necessary items.

You can also order biodegradable cleanup bags and cleanup kits as well as hats, pet gear, and stickers.

All the products on the Keep Nature Wild site are sustainable. The company is committed to ethical manufacturing and works with WRAP-certified partners. All its packaging is recyclable.

Are you ready to pick up trash? Leave a comment below.