We all know that there is litter and garbage basically all over the place — there is, sadly, practically nowhere left on earth that is untouched by debris left by humans. But it is still jarring to see just how much of it there can be in one place, as one recent Reddit post shows us.
The r/DeTrashed subreddit is a super wholesome forum where more than 100,000 members share pictures and stories of cleaning up litter wherever they go. Its tagline: "Saving the only planet we'll ever have!"
And one user is taking that practice to the extreme, making multiple trips to a debris field by Santa Rosa Creek in Santa Rosa, California, and spending hours gathering up all the garbage.
"After a second trip to this debris field, I can see light at the end of the tunnel," the Redditor writes.
Their most recent haul included a multitude of balls (tennis, baseball, basketball, football, and others), a ton of empty liquor bottles, some plastic lighters, among other assorted items.
If you're interested in seeing the cleanup in action, the user also has a YouTube channel where he chronicles his trash removal adventures. This most recent one cost them the SD card from a drone (it shot out into a mass of sticks and Styrofoam, never to be found again), but the poster remains in good spirits and undeterred in his efforts to clear the creek of trash.
Almost all litter, including the stuff that the Redditor found, is made of plastic and is not biodegradable, meaning that unless it is removed by people, it will continue to pile up, clogging and poisoning the natural environment. An estimated more than 1 million animals die each year after eating, or becoming entrapped in, improperly disposed trash.
Fellow trash-disposing Redditors were appropriately impressed by his efforts.
"HUGE effort. And what a beautiful spot, too. THANK YOU for doing the work," writes one commenter.
"This is awesome! Thank you for your time and patience, this couldn't have been easy!" writes another.
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