Group Members: Ahtziri Figueroa, Kimberly Barba, Maryam Mohamed, Kawaii Hu, Bryce Rowland, Abhi Saroya
In Washington state 38 million pounds of trash is dropped in public areas such as parks every year. Each person has about 5 pounds of trash. Many of the trash that has been dropped are cigarettes, food wrappers, glass bottles, and construction debris. Littering will lead to many health and safety problems for both the locals and visitors.
Trash problems in parks and near bodies of water is a serious issue that poses risks to the wildlife and the ecosystems. Human food left at parks can cause animals to potentially have health problems and it can risk them becoming aggressive towards people. Plastic can contaminate the bodies of water with chemicals and pollutants which would harm aquatic life. Some trash like plastic could cause the wildlife to get caught onto it and potentially suffocate them, as well as consuming small pieces of trash could impact growth and reproduction. Trash could be brought into parks by littering park visitors, road debris and construction.
This is an often ignored but critical step to decision-making and problem solving. Criteria are standards used to evaluate decisions and solutions for problems. However, different criteria can lead to different results. It is suggested for groups to establish criteria for evaluating solutions before solutions are suggested. For example, in some cases, the criteria are already dictated. It is necessary for a group to come together and sort the criterion by most appropriate and relevant. In other words, ranked by order of priority.
Our group decided to focus on cleaning up a local park to show the importance of trash cleanup. The park we chose is Game Farm. We considered different ideas, but we wanted to take direct action. We chose to spend some of our own free time to pick the trash up at the park. This was an easy and effective way to make a difference while raising awareness. We believe that not only us going out there and picking up the trash directly did something but maybe effected the people that watched us to go do the same. By cleaning up the park, we showed how small efforts can help keep our community clean and safe.
From all of our ideas on what our project should be about, we decided to go with picking up trash at a local park. We decided on this because of the importance of trash in our environment. We have had an increasing amount of pollution and risks in our ecosystem due to the amount of trash that has been around for many years. There are many things everyone can do to help prevent this issue, but three ways are by reducing the number of single-use items you buy and use, reducing the number of plastics you use, and recycling the plastics you are done with. We chose to do it at Game Farm Park because of the river that runs along the trail. We decided this to
help all the species in the river that could be affected by the trash if it were to wound up in the river.
On the scheduled date, our group met at Game Farm Park as planned. The team divided responsibilities:
Despite time limitations, we successfully removed a significant amount of trash, improving the cleanliness of the area. We also documented our accomplishments of removing the trash through photos and videos to raise awareness about littering and environmental responsibility.
Our Small Wins project was a success, as we improved the cleanliness of Game Farm Park in Auburn. Litter is a major issue in not only in Washington but all over the world. Littering in Washington is as bad as over 12 million pounds of trash being left in public spaces each year. Common pollutants like plastic and cigarette butts harm wildlife and contaminate waterways. Beyond just cleaning, our actions served as a reminder to others watching that the responsibility of keeping public spaces litter-free is key to having safe and beautiful spot too walk dogs and play with your families. Studies show 75% of littering is intentional, highlighting the need for community action. Keeping Washington clean helps protect its natural beauty and public health. Our project proved that small efforts could lead to meaningful change, inspiring others to take responsibility for their environment. Though we weren’t able to clean up more trash, we did end up cleaning most of the trash we found around the area we were in. Many things such as beer cans and beer bottles were found near the river. Thanks to the guys, we were able to get most of those. While the guys were cleaning near the river, the girls picked up trash around the trees.
Things such as wrappers and cans were found. As for the group, we were able to work well together. We scheduled a date to meet up and clean the park, thankfully we were able to stick to that date and spend some time filming and cleaning up the park.
Preventing litter? New campaign reminds Washingtonians it’s as “Simple As That.” (2019). Wa.gov. https://ecology.wa.gov/about-us/who-we-are/news/2024/sept-12-preventing- litter-new-campaign-reminds-washingtonians-it-s-as-simple-as-that
Weick, K. E. (1984). Small wins: Redefining the scale of social problems. American Psychologist, 39(1), 40–49
How to make your small wins work for you. (2019, January 29). Ideas.ted.com. https://ideas.ted.com/how-to-make-your-small-wins-work-for-you/
Taylor, B. (2020, June 5). To Solve Big Problems, Look for Small Wins. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/06/to-solve-big-problems-look-for-small-wins
United Nations Environment Programme. (2017, September 26). Solid waste management.
UNEP – UN Environment Programme. https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/resource- efficiency/what-we-do/cities/solid-waste-management
Downs, A., Acevedo, R., & Humble, K. (2024, July 9). How Our Trash Impacts the Environment. Earth Day. https://www.earthday.org/how-our-trash-impacts-the- environment/
Plastic Pollution Coalition Editor. (2024, August 23). Going Beyond “Leave No Trace”: Tackling Plastic Pollution in U.S. National Parks at the Source. Plastic Pollution Coalition. https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/blog/2024/8/23/going-beyond-leave- no-trace
Young, O. (2021, August 9). The Trash Problem in National Parks. Treehugger. https://www.treehugger.com/trash-in-national-parks-5176531