#Take3Oxford

#Take3Oxford is a loosely organized trash pickup club built around the idea of picking up 3 pieces of trash every day to keep the streets of Oxford, OH clean.

Resources

City of Oxford Solid Waste program information click here.
City of Oxford Property Maintenance Violation form (for frequent litter offenders)
#Take3Oxford Facebook Group and Instagram

Connie Malone’s 12 Months of Trash Collection 2021

Connie Malone, 2020 #Take3Oxford Trash Picker of the Year, made a GIANT commitment to pick up trash and post about it in 2021. Below are her “Litterbug of the Month” Facebook posts for each month in 2021:

Happy New Year everyone! This morning I couldn’t decide whether to post my December “Litterbug of the Month” or lead with my 2021 totals, so here I am with the latter. May I say? I just ADORE each of you and our #Take3 Oxford, Ohio community of litter picker uppers! Last year at this time I’d shared personal goals of walking 365 miles, losing the 12 lbs. I’d gained working in my kitchen, and collecting 2,190 pieces of trash and recycling. WELL! While falling just a tad short on miles and those oh-so-pesky pounds, I am delighted to have utterly ECLIPSED my litter pick-up goal! Here are my final 2021 numbers:

Pieces of litter and recycling: 10,741
Miles walked: 360.5
C02 emissions offset walking to work/doing errands: 206 lbs.
Weight lost: 7.4 lbs.

My partner Michel has, of course, been by my side for most of this, and gosh, really, it’s been SUCH fun! Folks have asked me whether now I’ll stop, and of course the answer is no. So here’s to each of us and our efforts, individual and collective, that help make Oxford a cleaner, more beautiful place to live while simultaneously contributing in meaningful ways to the health of our natural environment! #letsmakeadifference #take3oxford #yesIusegrabbers #noitsnotthatgross #whysomanysocks

NOVEMBER! So we’ve heard of “plant blindness,” right, the inability to see or notice the plants in one’s own environment to the detriment of both environmental and human health; well, throughout this year I’ve become quite aware of the extent of “litter (or trash) blindness,” the condition that “makes us become desensitized or unaware, most of the time involuntarily, to the waste in our towns and the litter around us.” Is it often on private property? Well sure, but not only does litter have the tendency to travel (hello, wind!), but all litter has the potential to harm our water, our land, and the wildlife with which we coexist. What to do about it? Education and awareness are always key.My November Numbers (it was a big month!):

Pieces of Litter and Recycling: 1,653
Miles Walked: 53.25
Gratitude To: as the year draws to a close, I think about how grateful I am to each member of this group who contributes in meaningful ways to this conversation and to the health, wellbeing, and beauty of our community!

(And yep, five more socks, and one pair of undies… hope that person is okay!)

OCTOBER! There are few things I enjoy more than a blustery fall day, and as we enjoy our first frosts and herald in some lovely early wintry weather, I introduce October’s “Litterbug of the Month” — the wind! “Thar She Blows!” recognizes that a good deal of the litter we see is the consequence of dropped or uncovered trash (okay, for sure there is a human element here too!) that gets picked up by the wind and is blown into bushes, fence lines, ditches, etc. where it’s caught… and too often stays.

My October Numbers (smaller, alas, due to a painful two-week bout of bursitis in my left hip!):

• Pieces of Litter and Recycling: 660
• Miles Walked: 17.25
• Gratitude to: Stella Beerman and The Oxford Observer, who are doing a piece on the problem of litter in our community — please keep an eye out for this soon!

SEPTEMBER! So first of all I just ADORE alleys*, those tucked away, oft-forgotten, utilitarian streets in the Mile Square, yet regrettably many of our alleys are woefully litter strewn. Is it due to an “out of sight, out of mind” lack of consideration? Blow from overflowing dumpsters and trash receptacles? Or simply the mindset of “Alley Cats,” the many who simply don’t feel responsible for public areas? Interestingly, psychologists believe that people are more likely to litter in already littered places, and that if they look around and see a lot of cleanliness, they’re less likely to litter. I find this heartening on days like last Thursday when, walking west on an alley south of High Street between Campus Avenue and Elm, I picked up 200 pieces of litter — not nearly, mind you, all the litter that was there; that was just the number at which I thought “enough.” Here’s hoping that all of us “litter pickers” are actually contributing to a lessening of the problem!
My September numbers:
• Pieces of Litter and Recycling: 1,256
• Miles Walked: 45.75
• Most Surprising Litter: Socks! (Why so many socks?!)
• Gratitude To: Those commercial and rental properties whose curb/street/sidewalk-side receptacles enable me to occasionally empty my full bag!

*I adore cats too!

AUGUST! I’ll be honest: perhaps what bugs me the most as I contemplate the “why” of littering is that some folks don’t know, don’t try, or simply don’t care how they dispose of their waste — they don’t “give a hoot,” and to them I award my August “Litterbug of the Month” designation as the “My Give-a-Hoot’s Busted” litterer. Do they not know to how to prepare and sort their recycling, or know that certain things (Adirondack chairs, leaves, lamps) are not recyclable? Have they no regard for the Rumpke employees who have to deal with their mess? Do they not care that their carelessly strewn trash is not only unsightly but will blow all over the place, littering their neighbors’ yards and ultimately causing damage to the environment and harm to wildlife? Sigh.And to my August numbers (it’s good to be out more now that I’m walking to campus several days a week!):

Pieces of Litter and Recycling: 1290
Miles Walked: 42
Gratitude To: again, the lovely people who express their appreciation of what we do — Tessa Ralinovsky, I love you too! Helaine Alessio, you are so welcome! College students who shared “We’re on our way to pick up litter on the trails!” yay, you ! And to the kind fellow who pulled alongside us on North Locust and offered me $20 (I’m still not sure if this was intended as a contribution to our good cause or because, in my ratty old cut-offs, I looked like I needed the money ) that was incredibly kind, and I hope you found a worthwhile charity for your donation!

MAY, JUNE & JULY! A relentless winter and spring workload left me feeling pretty spent, and sadly my early summer walking and litter collection correspondingly waned. For these months, my “Litterbug of the Month” is the “McLitterer,” that fast food indulger whose trash — cups, lids, straws, sandwich wraps, bags — is too often carelessly cast out car windows or tossed aside while dining on foot. This is NOT limited to McDonald’s customers of course — in equal measure we pick up debris from Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, SDS, Starbucks, Speedway, etc.
My combined May/June/July numbers:
Pieces of Litter and Recycling: 910
Miles Walked: 35
Cash Found: $5.10 (ka-ching!)
Gratitude To: In fairness, to Oxford McDonald’s for their beautifully kept grounds AND because they keep the ditch/creek area in front of their store along Locust Street clean!

MARCH! Hello friends, and happy spring! So while it’s hard to wrap my head around the idea that anyone litters intentionally, perhaps no litterbug is more perplexing than those folks who walk their dog (yay!), remember their “good neighbor” bag (yay!), pick up after their dog (yay!), and then discard the bag by the side of the road, sidewalk or trail (wait, what?). My hope is that perhaps folks set these bags down with the intention of picking them up on the return trip; if that’s the case, heaven help us, there are OODLES of dog walkers whose memories are even worse than mine!
Now, to my March numbers:
Pieces of litter and recycling: 963
Miles walked: 30.25
Most amusing item collected: a Slinky!
Gratitude to: those who call out their thanks – your kind acknowledgement is appreciated!

FEBRUARY! With apologies to Mike Myers and Dana Carvey (oh my gosh I do LOVE “Wayne’s World”!), my February “Litterbug of the Month” is the “Party on Wayne; Party on Garth” litterer who populates our streets with discarded beer and liquor cans and bottles (sorry, whomever regularly tosses those red Budweiser aluminum “bottles” at the corner of Chestnut and Oxford-Reily Road — I see you, and your contributions to the problem are noted and recycled, but dude, this photo came out better! ).

My February numbers;
Pieces of Litter and Recycling: 519 (a bit low, but SO MUCH SNOW!)
Miles Walked: 21.25 (ditto)

JANUARY! So I’m one month into my 2021 goals – so far, so good! Because so many people have not been picking up litter due to COVID, there’s a LOT out there right now — I’m averaging over 30 pieces of litter/recycling per mile! I’m also amusing myself as I pick stuff up by coming up with a litterer classification system; for January, please meet the “Unmasked Bandit”! Accidentally dropped or carelessly cast to the ground, there are SO MANY MASKS! Sigh. Now, to my January numbers:
Pieces of Litter and Recycling: 1,214 (yes, really!)
Miles Walked: 38.25
Smartphones Found: 2
Smartphone Owners Found: 1 (fingers crossed OPD found the other owner!)
Now just waiting for the snow to melt so I can get back out there!