10/10/2026
𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗽, 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱.
A clean community is not only measured by what we remove, but also by what we learn from what remains.
On 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟵, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, the 𝗟𝗔𝗞𝗔𝗦 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗟𝗬𝗢) took part in 𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗨𝗽, 𝗣𝗛! at 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗮𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗴, 𝗠𝗼𝗹𝗼, 𝗜𝗹𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗼 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆, joining volunteers and partner organizations in a collective effort to clean, document, and better understand the waste found within the community.
But beyond the act of picking up waste, LYO’s 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟳 took the opportunity to look more closely at what was being collected.
Through a 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁, volunteers documented a total of 𝟲𝟱𝟱 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 across 17 categories. Of these, 𝟯𝟵𝟮 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀 were plastic, while 𝟮𝟲𝟯 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀, or 𝟰𝟬.𝟮%, were non-plastic materials.
Among the recorded waste were 𝟭𝟬𝟴 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗴𝘀, 𝟳𝟴 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀, 𝟯𝟴 𝗣𝗘𝗧 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀, 𝟮𝟵 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝟮𝟰 𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗼𝗮𝗺 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀, and 𝟮𝟭 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗱𝘀.
These numbers are more than figures on a sheet of paper. They offer a glimpse into the patterns of consumption, disposal, and waste generation within the area, and provide a basis for conversations that extend beyond a single cleanup activity.
𝗪𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 turns a pile of discarded materials into information. Information becomes awareness, and awareness can become a starting point for better practices, stronger policies, and more conscious communities.
The initiative, organized by the 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗸𝘁𝗼 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 (𝗣𝗩𝗡) in partnership with 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗮𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗴, 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, and the 𝗥𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗹𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗼 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆, brought together volunteers from across the community to transform a day of cleanup into an opportunity for collective learning and environmental action.
As 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗦. 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗻, Founder of PVN, emphasized, continuing to be conscious of the waste around us and seeking data-driven solutions can help communities better understand the problems they face.
Because cleaning the streets is only the beginning.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲, and what we can collectively do to keep it from returning.
𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲. 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲. 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻. 𝗔𝗰𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗽.
