Vermonters cleaning up the community in a pandemic
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BURLINGTON, VT (WPTZ) — A group of Vermonters are helping to clean up Burlington by picking up trash once a month for Community Green Up Day.
Ken Spencer, the founder of Planet People and Marina McCoy, the founder of Waste Free Earth, host the event. The two groups work with the Burlington Parks & Recreation to help clean up micro-trash like cans, bottles and nowadays, face masks.
“During COVID times single use plastic waste has increased by 250% and then our individual waste has increased by 30%,” said McCoy.
They say plastic is the most commonly found trash.
“You have to do what you have to do to be safe absolutely—but if there’s any way to reduce that plastic use we should be doing it now,” added Spencer.
They’re encouraging everyone to use their own reusable utensils and plates amidst the pandemic. McCoy says several scientific studies show that disposables are not less transmitting than reusable.
“It’s easier to grab the packaged stuff but if you just take a moment and try to prepare and instead of getting a bag of chips—maybe get some apples and bananas that aren’t super packaged. Those small little things really do add up,” explained McCoy.
They hope that by encouraging the community to pick up trash with them once a month, it becomes a part of their daily routine.
“If everyone just did what they could, without getting as overwhelmed as you can—it would make a huge substantial difference in the world,” said Eli Spencer.
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