cleaning-nature

[cleaning-nature]

21/09-24 Nasty Surprises

Time for World Cleanup Day again! I planned to just clean up in my neighbourhood. First order of business was going down to this wooded path and deal with this mystery pile I'd spotted a while back.

I couldn't investigate without my litter picker, so I didn't know what was in there at first...

And this is what I pulled out. The diapers were super heavy and I assume they were used, but I didn't wanna look too closely. The thing I initially thought was a pair of panties was some type of torn up garment. There was also baby clothing, a towel, and a mattress that was bigger than I thought. I realized I couldn't handle this myself, I don't have any large bags and I couldn't dispose of everything properly. So I sent a request to the municipality asking them to take care of this.

A bit further along that path, in the same ditch where I found all those glass bottles years ago, I found this. A kid's shirt and a bunch of small plastic bags, the kind you use for fruit and veg in the grocery store. Very strange. There was also two plastic soda bottles with mystery yellow liquid in it...

Also found a lone shoe next to the road.

I ended up with two full bags, this was the first. And if the diapers weren't enough, I did also find two used condoms in a very public spot. Used diapers and condoms are both something I had expected to find at some point, feels like some type of litter picking milestone. And yes, I did thoroughly disinfect myself and my litter picker after that... Pretty successful day! Even if I'm a bit disappointed I couldn't take care of the mystery pile myself. I'll have to post an update if I get a response from the municipality.

[cleaning-nature]

It has surprisingly been very clean in the area around my house, so I haven't actually felt the need to go out much this summer. I do know a specific place nearby that needs cleaning, just need to work up the nerve because it's uh, sort of unsanitary... Wish me luck with that lol.

I did pick up some trash today though, just half a bag, but it's such an improvement! Previous years I'd easily get a full bag in the same area. I did find four batteries too, always feels great to pick those up.

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who fucking litters. why do i ever see litter. who thinks that’s okay. who. who NEEDS to throw their fast food bag out the fucking window instead of waiting until they get somewhere with a trashcan. what kinda clown behavior. get fucked.

[cleaning-nature]

08/06-24 World Ocean Day / Coastal Cleanup

This year the coastal cleanup day was on the same day as world ocean day. My plan was to visit the same "beach" area I cleaned up last year, but the water was too high, and the unusual heat we had in May made all the greenery explode in growth. So, I started walking along the water and to my surprise, things were really clean!! I saw a few things I couldn't safely reach, but that was it really. The only thing I picked up was a pen that I could just bring directly to a trash can.

This was a massive surprise! I picked up several bags just on that little beach last year, and the year before that I think I got 3 bags along this same stretch along the water. I'm not sure if someone else has been cleaning up, or if things are just generally cleaner now somehow? Anyway, I had to change my plans. So I took the bus to an area on the mainland where I'd never been before. Confirmed that there were trash cans nearby before I got a bag started.

This was one of the first things I encountered. I think someone must've picked this up while magnet fishing? Sadly not something I could take with me since I don't have a car, so I hope whoever fished it up comes back for it.

Other than the metal junk, a pallet, and various tiny items, this stretch was also really clean! I mostly just picked up cigarette butts, and a random glass jar. In the end I barely got half a bag. I had packed 5 bags, and I was afraid I hadn't packed enough lol. This was the first time I've gone out and barely found any litter. Gotta admit I was a bit disappointed I didn't get to do more on this day, because I know there are places that need to be cleaned, and I managed to only visit the clean ones! But I know I should focus on being happy that I didn't need to pick up bags and bags of litter along the water.

[cleaning-nature]

Love your stuff! I also am taking a break during the summer; it's just too hot!

Thank you! ❤ Luckily the random heatwave we had is over and the weather has been pretty mild for a bit now. I do have to take advantage of the snow free months, so I hope things stay this mild for a while

[cleaning-nature]

Litter picking tips! 🚯

Figured I'd write down some things that are good to know for beginner litter pickers! These are in no particular order. 1. Use sturdy bags. Those cheap see through ones WILL break. 2. Litter picking on very windy days is no fun, so avoid that if you can. 3. Only use gardening/construction type gloves, not disposable ones. Latex/vinyl gloves just get sweaty and uncomfortable, and they won't protect you very well. 4. This obviously varies depending on where you live, but for us in Sweden, the ideal time to litter pick is during spring before all the vegetation comes up. This is the best time to get into areas like bushes that are normally hard to reach during the summer. 5. If you're walking on a street, it's good to only focus on one side, and then do the other as you're walking back. That way your attention won't be all over the place and you won't have to run across the street all the time. It's also good to go over an area twice, once in each direction. It can be easy to miss some things from one direction, while from the other direction they're very easy to spot. 6. This is an obvious one but, be careful around roads! Wear reflectives if it's dark. High vis vests are also a good idea. Don't litter pick around highways, leave that to people who are actually trained to do that. 7. Bring hand sanitizer, wet wipes are also good. 8. Clean your tools!!!! Even if you're not picking up things with your gloves, sweat and dirt will build up. You do not wanna know how long it took me realize I have to clean my gloves... Litter pickers don't necessarily need to be cleaned after every use unless you've been picking up some real nasty stuff. I still give mine a quick clean every time just because it's nice to use a clean tool + it feels better to store it knowing it's somewhat clean. 9. Use a separate bag for recycling if you're finding a fair amount of it. You really don't wanna go digging for the recycling later on. It might be a bit hard to manage two bags, but it's worth it. 10. If you're throwing your bag in a smaller bin, and the bag isn't full to the point of bursting, tie it up and push out the air from it before throwing it away. Just remember to turn your face away lol. 11. Bring several bags with you. Even if you're not necessarily planning on picking up a lot of trash, you never really know how much you'll find. And you might find things you have to take home (like the time I found a license plate) or things like recycling that should be separated from the main bag. 12. NEVER EVER TAKE YOUR FILLED TRASH BAGS INDOORS!!!!!! I cannot stress this enough!! You have no idea what that bag actually contains. It is going to smell, and it probably contains bugs. I once brought a full bag into my apartment after a litter picking session, thinking I'd just throw it away later because I needed a break. Well, after a little while, I saw lots of earwigs and other bugs crawling on/around the bag and it smelled really bad. If you are unable to throw it away right after your litter picking session, leave it outdoors.

[cleaning-nature]

06/05-24 What's hidden in the snow...

The snow is almost entirely gone now except for the biggest piles, which means there's plenty of litter everywhere. What's hidden in the snow comes out in the thaw, as the saying goes. I went out for an hour today, focused on a relatively small area but I still got a full bag + a vape and some type of metal ring/handle. The spring sun is super harsh so it's not easy to get good photos one handed... I usually find these piles of snus/tobacco and/or cigarettes by benches, bus stops, or parking lots, but this one was placed pretty randomly along the walking path. I also found a lot of cigarette + tobacco packaging scattered all over the place, the rubber part of a table tennis racket, a small gift wrapping bow, part of a pizza box, and plastic carrot packaging. Another lady told me I was doing a good job today, always nice to be appreciated!

[cleaning-nature]

19/04 & 20/04-24 Spring Cleaning

The snow has finally melted quite a bit, so yesterday I went out for my very first litter picking session of 2024!

I picked up a full bag of trash + 5 glass bottles along a footpath close to my house. Found one more captain morgan bottle and two smaller blank bottles, managed to get them all to the recycling even though I made the mistake of only bringing one bag with me lol. I also found a single glove, a lot of cigarettes and cigarette packages, a pack of very soggy matches, and 4 full dog poop bags. In total I think I walked about 900 meters and it took me 1,5 hours.

When I was about to turn back and do the other side of the path, I saw this... but I had to get back to that another day because my bag was almost full. After this session I was totally exhausted, but I promised myself I'd get that taken care of soon so it didn't spread everywhere. So then I went out again today, with my only focus being the stuff in the woods.

Not quite sure what went down here... I could tell it was trash belonging to a family with kids (that drink a LOT of milk lol) but how it got there is a mystery to me. I wanna believe it got there by accident, but I feel like it had been left there deliberately. That one black bag had been tore open by birds I'm assuming, and then things spread absolutely everywhere. There were things I didn't take photos of that had spread pretty far away as well.

Picking up all the tiny stuff was time consuming, but I hate leaving anything behind, so everything had to go. Encouragement and thanks from a lady who I assume lives in one of the houses closest to this mess made it all worth it. She said it had been there for a while.

I ended up with one bag of recycling, one bag of mixed trash, and the rest of what was left in the black bag. One can of oven cleaner came home with me, it'll be properly disposed of as dangerous waste at the recycling center whenever I go next time. Overall a great start to this year's litter picking adventures!

[cleaning-nature]

Hi all! I'm Sniff and I pick up litter in Sweden. You can read more about me/this blog in my about.

[cleaning-nature]

Impatiently waiting for winter to be over in a few months so I can start properly litter picking again... Meanwhile, here's a clip I filmed to submit to a thing that I don't think will be finished.

[cleaning-nature]

22/09-23 Back at it

Been dealing with a lot lately, so I haven't been litter picking nearly as much as I had wanted to. On the 11th September I went out for the first time since June. Was out for an hour and cleaned up an area near my house that was surprisingly clean, didn't even get a full bag.

Then it was time for World Cleanup Day on the 16th September. Only got one and a half bag, which is an improvement from last year when I cleaned the same area and got three bags + some big plastic things. Some interesting finds were a cinema popcorn container and some type of usb cord. I also found two return bottles that I was going to recycle later, but I don't like taking trash home. Luckily I met a guy on a bike who had a bunch of bottles he was on the way to return, so I just gave him mine. I also met a white poodle who suddenly turned up beside me (the owner wasn't far behind) and a nice old lady who said I was doing a great job. I was out for 2 hours and the rain started pouring down just after I got home. I'm not sure what the rest of this autumn will look like, but hopefully I'll have the time/energy to get out a lot more before the snow arrives.

[cleaning-nature]

08/06-23 Nordic Coastal Cleanup Day

My second year participating! I planned to clean up the same area I cleaned last year, which was about a 1 km long stretch along the water. I thought there might not be anything to pick up, because I'd heard something about people litter picking there not too long ago... Boy was I wrong. This area by the water, pretty much right at the start of the stretch I was gonna walk, ended up being the one place I cleaned during the two hours I was out.

It's hard to try to explain just how much trash there was (and still is) in this relatively small area. You can just keep digging through the reeds and find more and more. I had to leave a bunch of small pieces behind, because they were just impossible to grab with my litter picker and I just did not have the time to sit and pick out every little thing.

Found various interesting things, and some large things I couldn't get rid off myself. There is also a bunch of random pieces of wood there for some reason? I did call the municipality and they said they'd try to let the right people know about it, so hopefully it gets picked up... But it really is a nightmare to try and find out who's actually responsible for an area, and to then get someone out there is even harder.

I plan on going back at some point, this area really needs some more love. I'd like to pick up all the tiny things and maybe gather up the wood into one pile. There was a tire that definitely had not gotten there on its own, and a mystery circle in the water that I couldn't reach. I ended up with three bags in total.

Overall this day was very successful even if I didn't clean the whole stretch I had planned. There's an area close by that's full of shattered glass, so I have my work cut out for me this summer!

[cleaning-nature]

04/06-23 Surströmming

Fancy photos today because I was filming for my short film. Spotted this empty and very sharp tin of fermented herring right as I was about to head back home. Wasn't supposed to pick up any litter (as you can see from my non-gloved hand lol) but I was close to a bin so I figured I'd take the tin there. The cap was almost entirely buried beside a tree just a few steps away from the bin, so I picked that up as well.

[cleaning-nature]

05/05-23 Mystery discs

Went out litter picking in the spring sun for an hour today. Ended up with a very full bag, two recyclable bottles, and a battery that must've been out in the elements for a long time. I kept finding these mystery discs in one area, didn't keep count but I think I picked up about 10-15 of them. Also found a shredded mitten, an empty lighter, and a fast food to go bag that was buried in the gravel.

[cleaning-nature]

The dog poop stash

Not sure how I managed to take such shaky photos, but here's a memorable cleanup project from May 2022. I was litter picking in an area where there's a fence preventing you from accessing this steep area with train tracks below. I spotted this pile just on the other side of the fence. You'd have to actually have gone out of your way and reached over the fence for this all to get there, so it was obviously done on purpose. I was able to reach pretty well with my litter picker, but the fence is pretty tall so it took some effort to reach over all the way to the ground. At first I thought it was just the remnants of someone's picnic trip, some to go coffee cups, candy wrappers, paper plates, juice boxes, etc. But then I kept finding dog poop bags, full and tied up! In the end I think there were about 8-10 of them, there was only one bag I had to leave because I couldn't reach it. I'm hoping whoever used this as their personal dumping ground saw that it had been cleaned up, and felt so ashamed when they realized someone knew what they were doing that they stopped leaving their dog poop bags in nature. But if we're gonna be honest, people like this probably have no shame in their body, so my hopes aren't high. Just leave the dog poop on the ground if you think it's too much of a hassle to take it to a trash bin... And maybe consider not owning a dog at all if you're gonna do shit like this!

[cleaning-nature]

2021 Highlights

Hi all! I'm Sniff and I pick up litter in my corner of Sweden. This blog is a way to document my adventures and to bring attention to the litter in my area. You can read more about me/this blog in my about. I figured I'd start off with some highlights from 2021, since that was the year I started litter picking as a hobby.

I went on my first litter picking adventure in May. One of the very first things I found was this mangled PlayStation controller. It came home with me and was eventually taken to the electronics section of the recycling center.

Another interesting find was this beater from an electric mixer that I found in a ditch beside the road. It was also eventually taken to the recycling center.

I tackled my first big cleanup project at the end of may. I picked up the remnants of a party that someone had left in a ditch beside my favorite path in a wooded area. I believe someone had gone out of their way to dump it there, perhaps a teen that wanted to hide the evidence from their parents? I ended up with one very heavy bag full with glass bottles, one bag with various trash, and a backpack.

Along the same path I then spotted this mystery fluff that must've been from something like a pillow or a plush. Seeing it every time I took a walk was driving me nuts, so eventually I painstakingly picked it all up, although it was impossible to get every little piece that had spread along the path. The fluff could've been made from something totally harmless, but it was an eyesore either way.

I ordered a free litter picking kit (gloves + bags) from Keep Sweden Tidy in preparation for their big litter picking day, that I then participated in. It was a gloomy day and I considered not going out after all since it might rain, but I did anyway and I got two very full bags of trash. 2021 was the year I stopped being able to ignore litter, which is both a blessing and a curse. I now notice litter everywhere all the time and I mentally note down places I can go litter picking. This hobby is a way for me to make a real difference and I'm very happy I discovered it. Looking forward to going on more adventures than ever during 2023!