We all do it, probably on a hourly/daily basis. There’s a fast food cup nestled on the bed of grass next to the sidewalk, or a Snickers wrapper blowing down the street towards the cul-de-sac. You shake your head disapprovingly, but walk by without picking it up. You think, “I’m not touching that — who knows where that piece of trash has been? Besides, it’s just a drop in the bucket.”

While we sympathize, we can’t stress this more: organized cleanups aren’t enough. They aren’t! Despite a burgeoning emphasis on a decreased use of plastics, displaced trash via littering or otherwise will continue to be a NoVA issue for the foreseeable future. And while cleanups (and education) are a good start, Clean Fairfax wants to encourage you to pick up that piece of litter as you walk to work, school or to the grocery store. This may seem like a endless and futile task, but every piece of trash counts. More importantly, you’re developing a social norm. When your neighbor sees you picking up that cup, they become more likely to do it too. If they see multiple people behaving this way, they become exponentially more likely to do so. If most Fairfax County residents picked trash up when they saw it, our streets and parks would be significantly better off!

Don’t forget to wash your hands afterwards. Don’t forget to schedule a cleanup with us if/when there’s too much litter for your two hands to carry! And finally, don’t forget to email us about habitually littered areas in your community so we can put it on our community map!