Earth Day Is Every Day Not One Day Out Of the Year

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”  –  Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

Some people love to litter, and it is not surprising that you would find the same individuals getting annoyed at the government for not doing something about litter seen along roads or waterfronts. Well, a guy by the name Tommy Kleyn from the Netherlands decided to do something about the trash occupying the waterfront, which he could see on his way to work. The heavily polluted waterfront received a new facelift since he decided on getting up an hour earlier to collect the trash. It all started with him being irritated by a particular stretch of a route he loved walking since it was the only part that had all the garbage.

The stretch of riverbank had many pieces of litter, especially plastic trash and this irritated him a lot. I guess just like you and me; Tommy Kleyn decided to wait and see whether the state or someone else would do something about it and when they did not, he took matters into his own hands! Every day, he would pick up the litter, and it took about 30 minutes to fill a bag, which is, of course, is not an easy task but worth it! One bag a day did not make a difference in such a densely polluted area, but he soldiered on and vowed to take it a day at a time and fill one bag every time he passed that spot.

In about six days, he had already made an enormous difference in some sections, and this encouraged him to continue collecting the trash mainly because from afar, the difference between the collected part of the riverbank and the uncollected part was noticeable. The same way you would update your status on Facebook, or what you are up to on social platforms; Tommy Kleyn decided to share his experiences on Facebook, and over 180 people liked this project and commended him on it.

One of his friends by the name Rick decided to help out, and since the location was right next to a bike path, a few people would get off their bikes and comment on that great initiative Tommy had embarked. Twenty-two bags later, the waterfront was finally free of litter, and the difference was absolutely stunning! As a reward, a Eurasian Coot started nesting in the cleaned part, which goes to show that even animals value cleanliness. What made him share his experiences on Facebook was to motivate people to take that initiative of filling one garbage bag with litter each year to feel useful for making a difference!