Nobody wants to see garbage strewn about their streets. One TikToker decided to make a change and shared the result along with how we can help.
Katy Impellizzeri (@katy.imp) was tired of seeing trash around her neighborhood, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. She posted a video of her cleanup process to TikTok and shared a fantastic photo of the street's transformation.
"Tired of seeing my neighborhood littered in trash, so I'm gonna clean it up," the video's narration says.
@katy.imp Cleaning up trash in my neighborhood! "Be the change you wish to see in the world" #plasticfree #earthdayeveryday #ethikli #fypシ #fyp @ethikli ♬ Oh No - Kreepa
The much-loved video captures Katy collecting a ton of trash from around her neighborhood, including cigarette butts, masks, straws, and more. By the end of her cleanup, she had filled an entire bag with trash from just one street. She then shared a final photo revealing the street's impressive transformation: a beautifully clean sidewalk, free of litter.
Unfortunately, littering is a huge problem. It's not just visually unpleasant, either. Litter pollutes our water and soil, harms wildlife, harbors bacteria, and is costly to clean up. According to Keep America Beautiful, "there are nearly 50 billion pieces of litter along U.S. roadways and waterways." That's a lot of litter, but we can help prevent it from causing further damage to our environment.
If each person picked up just one piece of trash per day, we could eliminate millions of pieces of waste from our streets and waterways. Cleanup campaigns, like California Coastal Cleanup Day and The Ocean Cleanup, are organizations dedicated to removing and recycling litter. They make a big difference while we work to "reduce unnecessary plastic at source, design less harmful products and develop better recycling processes."
Inspired by Katy? Lend a hand in picking up trash from around your neighborhood. Even a small piece of trash removed can make a big difference. If you're looking to make an even bigger impact, you can search for local cleanups near you.
The comments were grateful for Katy's cleanup efforts, and many were motivated to do the same.
"You are awesome," one user commented. "We all need to do our part."
"If everyone felt like you, our country would be much cleaner. I think I'm going to follow your lead," said another.
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