In 2014, Jason Alexander set himself a challenge: To watch and photograph one hundred sunrises in a year. But something started bugging him: Litter. Unable to ignore the issue, he started picking it up, and sharing his experiences on his website and social media to engage with other people. But he felt that wasn’t enough: “I just had to come up with some original ideas to inspire and motivate people.”
Jason started Rubbish Walks, a small social enterprise based in Suffolk, U.K., raising awareness about litter and finding practical solutions that positively impact the environment. At its core, Rubbish Walks is about gathering like-minded people to help the planet while enjoying quality time outdoors.
Jason Alexander picks up litter to achieve a better world.
“I just had to come up with some original ideas to inspire and motivate people.”
For Jason, it’s all about enacting small changes to make a world of difference. For example, starting a litter pick is something anyone can do: all you need is to pick a place to clean, grab a trash bag and get to work.
Clean-ups are also “an invaluable tool to drive engagement, to start conversations, to help encourage others to think about their actions and modify their behavior.” Jason hopes to inspire others to follow in his footsteps and understand the issues around littering and what can be done to help effect change.
"Just the smallest change can make a world of difference."
While clean-ups are vital, preventing littering in the first place is the ultimate goal. Amongst the initiatives launched by Rubbish Walks to help change behavior was the “Butt why should I care?” campaign. Helping prevent cigarette butt pollution by offering Charity Cigarette Butt Bins. These specifically designed bins are a way to involve local businesses and support charities while encouraging smokers to dispose of their cigarette butts properly. Given that a cigarette butt can take up to 15 years to decompose, the crucial element of this initiative is to prompt positive habits from adult smokers.
