Why Trashpacking?

You are doing so much more than a cleanup!

1. You’re saving our animal friends!

Plastic waste kills up to 1 million seabirds, 100,000 sea mammals, marine turtles and countless fish each year. Plastic remains in our ecosystem for years, harming thousands of sea creatures every day (United Nations, 2017). By picking it up BEFORE it ends up in the sea, you might help a few animals to stay alive!

2. You’ll inspire people!

A lot of people are still surprised when they see someone cleaning up. That’s exactly what we want! We believe that one person can inspire other ones to do the same. When you start cleaning up, you’ll see that people will join you. A cleanup doesn’t end when the bin bags are collected. Participants will talk about it with their friends afterwards. Let’s spread some awareness! Maybe your cleanup goes viral? The more Trashpackers join the community, the bigger our impact!

3. Litter = data!

Filling out information on your cleanup afterwards is absolutely wonderful! The data that you’ll collect with your cleanups has a high value for research communities and the public. The open source database can be used to explore spatial relationships in waste processes and impacts of plastics. Such information helps us find sustainable solutions for the global plastic problem. That’s why we kindly ask you to fill in the information after your cleanup. Take a look at the form!

4. You help us to confront companies with their litter

How?  By simply taking pictures of litter! The app Litterati will do the rest for you. Geotags provide insight into problem areas, whilst keywords identify the most commonly found brands and products. This data will be used to work with companies and organizations to find more sustainable solutions. It’s super cool! You can download the app here