As part of our annual Plastic Cap Challenge, we pledge to rid our crags and dear natural areas of unwanted litter! The move pushes for two cleanups; one at the beginning of the month and the second during the last weekend of February. With the intention to spread the word about plastic pollutants and the importance of litter reduction, we took to social media to share with others our experience. Today, if you don’t already follow us on IG, I share it with you!
In good COVID-19 fashion, our initial cleanup plan fell through the day prior to our trip. We had intended to drive to San Antonio, TX and work on a fun but incredibly littered crag. However, one of our companions had to cancel because someone in his bubble had tested positive for the virus. We take precautionary methods very seriously, thus we decided that cancelling the trip would be the most responsible thing to do.
Regardless of the sudden change of plans, our commitment to the cleanup was still strong. Carrot and I decided to drive to an area near our house to pick up the trash that covered the grass and parking lot of the strip. I admit I did not know what to expect, as my brain had already prepared for Cliff bar wrappings and beer bottles’ galore. HOLY COW! Indeed, I was not prepared.
You find the oddest of objects in the strangest of places. As soon as we arrived, we parted ways to collect trash. Carrot instantly disappeared while I juggled to record, collect, and not get my hands wet! I successfully managed to snap a shot of what seemed to be cotton or used toilet paper. I later spork Carrot near the gutter, grabbing a strange looking object. “Is that a pan?!” I asked, “What’s cooking?” He said, as he hiked back up.
Grossed out by the contents of the pan, I could not stop but wonder how it even got there in the first place. Walking even further in, I found a pile of nail salon trash by a back door. Cottons, small plastic bags, cuticle sticks, and more. I was very upset. It was then when I realized that the same people that work in the mall strip are the ones polluting the space. Instead of properly disposing of their trash, they threw it out without any regard. It was a vivid reminder of how careless and polluting we can be.
Our teammate High-Clip was able to do a proper Climb+Cleanup near her local crag, these are the weirdest items she found:
-men’s underwear (donuts on them)
-empty condom wrapper
-foot or two of chopped garden hose
-pulse monitor (the type you have in a hospital that they have to attach an electrode to or whatever like if you got an EKG or something idk I’m no doctor but you’d know it when you saw it)
What have been the weirdest items you have ever found?
We invite you to join the our cleanup move on February 27. Let’s make a difference by creating awareness!
theDIHEDRAL
thedihedral.com 
Good luck 👍 & God Bless you. Highly commendable.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!!! 🙂
Gaia
LikeLike
Thanks for cleaning up nature. I will never understand why humans are such pigs when they are outdoors. And what is with the pan? Cheers. Allan
LikeLiked by 1 person
I will never understand either!!! Not sure where the pan came from, but it sure was dirty hehe
Take care! 🙂
Gaia
LikeLike
I SO applaud your efforts. Years ago, I was part of a group that would clean up along a highway nearby. It was amazing how we filled bags with trash. I just don’t understand – totally beyond my comprehension. Once kayaking on the Catawba River in NC, we came across piles of trash on the shores. Truly sickened us. Our children need to be educated. Keep up the good work!
LikeLiked by 2 people
So sad to hear about all of the trash! Especially in the shores. People don’t realize nor care how this also impacts the surrounding fauna. Ugh! So upsetting!
Hugs,
Gaia
LikeLike
Sad people leave such a mess but it’s heartening when people like you care enough to go make things right!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Alanna 🙂
Gaia
LikeLike
Masks … I’m finding lots of masks these days when I’m picking up along the trail and at the trailhead. 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
Same here! There are masks everywhere now. Awful for the environment and so unsanitary. I don’t understand why people throw their trash without any regard instead of properly disposing of it.
Gaia
LikeLike
I used to do clean up days with my scouts we were all amazed by how much trash we pulled out of the local reserve.
There is a great 2012 surfing film called North of the Sun. And at the end they helicopter all the trash of a remote beach. Fun film to watch.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Did not know about that film! Thank you for sharing, Pete 🙂
Take care,
Gaia
LikeLike
We have adopted a local highway (one of our favorite bike routes) so we clean it multiple times/year. The most common object consistently has been the Busch Light beer can. One of the weirder was a pile of empty Mountain Dew bottles right next to a pile of diabetic testing supplies.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hahaha oh my! Mountain Dew and a pile of diabetic testing supplies does not sounds like a safe combination! I wonder if Busch Light beer is very popular or if the culprit is always the same!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Gaia
LikeLike
GOOD WORK! Underwear, wrapper, pulse monitor. Is there a connection?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kudos to helping protect nature and the environment!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for the encouragement, it means a lot!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Earth champion’s 🥇 never give up regardless if there is a frustration by what you see in those clean ups you are making a difference ! Continue writing ✍️ if you wanna change the world 🌎 continue writing
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well done! What a great post. Some of that stuff must have been pretty icky.. including the donut underwear!
LikeLiked by 1 person
There were times when it was better not to ask what we were cleaning up…that is for sure. I’m happy that you enjoyed the post. Thank you for the comment, it means the world!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gosh, I can well imagine! ‘Nuff said, lol. But seriously, happy to offer kudos for a job well done. Not enough people care, & we should commend those who do. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very well job sir.. nowadays this is a big problem on Earth
LikeLiked by 2 people