The Bucket Stops Here

Dear Friends,

We write to you today at the end of a journey. During the garbage strike in Seattle we took a break from our weekly ritual and in doing so realized that at some point our litter campaign had to come to an end. With an impressive total of 148 buckets of litter collected in 74 straight weeks, we now pass the bucket to anyone out there who would like to take over where we left off.

We had plenty of fun and are happy to know that we made a difference and if anyone would like to pickup where we left off we’d be happy to hand this blog over to you. Please use the “Email Ben and Lori” link on the right column of this page with your request.

Thanks to all the Bucket Heads who pitched in from all around the country, we were so happy to hear about others out there who also care about our environment and were willing to get out and do something about it. While we won’t be continuing on a regular basis, don’t be surprised if you see a post every now and again as we still hate litter and may not always be able to pass by without doing something!

Until then,

Ben and Lori

Litter Alley, a strike!

Dear Readers,

Waste Management in Seattle appear to be headed for a strike in the very near future. Due to the small size of our garbage can, we will have to postpone any litter pickups until the strike is called off or over.

If they do move forward with the strike, I’m sure there will litter alley be a mountain of garbage for us to pickup. We’ll play catch up and fill as many buckets as needed to catch up.

Thanks,

Ben and Lori

Week 74 – Spring Break

To our loyal readers, we took a little Spring Break last week as Ben nursed the last of his winter colds.

It was a beautiful Spring Day that warranted shorts, T-shirts and a slight spring in our step.  It was near 70-‘s weather and BBQ’s were wafting ever-s0-gently in the air…until we reached our point of Spring  clean up which was the Waste Management Plant near the freeway.

Even though the first day of spring was amongst us,  four buckets and ten minutes was all it took to catch up from missing last week.  Ben felt much better and with the arrival of Spring and with the onset of Health Care Reform we felt quite positive of things to come.

“He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything.  Thomas Carlyle

Week 73 – Trashing the Oscars

Ben and I did a quick pick up Sunday to make sure we were home in time for the Oscars. Two buckets in 5 minutes near the stairs leading down to Delridge did not disappoint.What did disappoint?  Not only did Avatar not sweep the Oscars, but it failed to win best picture.  Poor Ben lost the yearly Oscar contest of who can pick the most winners…yet again.

Of course I had the Hurt Locker as best picture and director which was followed by guffaws and smirks.  I was happy to see Babs handing over the Oscar to the first female winner…Break that glass ceiling!

The Oscars finally ended and I went to bed smiling oh-so smugly.  Ben stayed up and pouted, ala the grouchy character on Sesame Street.  The only difference between the two was that Oscar loves trash!

Week 72 – The Bus Stops Here

Going back for round two on the bottom of the hill on Sylvan Way and Delridge (across Sylvan Way from Home Depot), we noticed that our last effort two weeks ago was completely unnoticeable.

Another two buckets in less than two minutes was depressing.  Ben noticed that the places where the bus stops but were void of garbage cans were truly a trash magnet.

We understand budget cuts with the city but having mandatory garbage cans at bus stops are the least we can do. What or whom decides which bus stop garners a garbage can?

I noticed on the Metro website that the bus# 128 only comes every half an hour during certain times of the day.  This may be a large cause to the pile of trash next to the bus stop pole.  People complain about the rubbish at their daily bus stop all over the internet, so obviously people do care.  A simple garbage can could help solve a monumental problem.

I bet even that person who stands there every day wouldn’t mind bending down during their waiting time to beautify their daily bus stop.  When you see a pretty trashy area, people feel inclined to add to the madness.  When you see a pretty area with a large garbage can next to it, people feel inclined to “stop” the madness.

Week 71 – Giving Back

Ben and I have a new addiction….the Marination Mobile.  It’s a Korean/Hawaiian/Taco truck that plants itself all over the city all week long.  But on Saturday’s, the truck belongs to West Seattle! It hangs out on the intersection of Morgan and 35th Ave in an abandoned lot.

The silvery- saucy-fusion mobile arrives early but sits silent and sober.  Ben and I run errands Saturday morning and avert our eyes as we  pass the truck that “tries” to blend into the surroundings.

As we pass the time waiting for the Marination Mobile to stop marinading and start feeding our addictions, we head out to various areas to pick up litter with the promise of yummy tacos as our reward.

Unfortunately we noticed that the abandoned lot that houses our latest West Seattle hot spot was also surrounded by trash. Just like we filled ourselves up, we returned the favor and stuffed two buckets with litter.  In true marinade form, we feel that we also enhance some tough areas and inject a tender flavor throughout.

Whoever thought of mixing Korean/Hawaiian/Mexican food into one…we thank you.  Mahalo nui loa!

“Food is our common ground, a universal experience.”  James Beard.

Week 70 – Precedents Day

Every week Lori and I attempt to set a precedent, a simple task that we hope motivates other people to join in and help clean up our earth. Recently we added Betty from Louisburg, NC to the Bucket Heads Club and she wrote recently to let us know she filled yet another bucket. We are so happy to have her join our cause and sincerely hope others will do the same.

On Presidents Day today we headed down to Lincoln Park (since we live in Washington State we figured we honored both Presidents in one fell swoop) and picked up a couple buckets of litter (mostly bottles and cans aka recyclables).  It was a beautiful sunny morning that was a taste of Spring. With the Winter Olympics underway in Vancouver BC just north of us we both would rather it be cold and snowy in Seattle to help our snow-starved neighbors to the north.

Two buckets, a nice walk in the sunshine, and twenty minutes of work… how many of you reading this will consider heading out with a bucket or bag to set a precedent of your own?

Betty from Louisburg, NC

The last time I picked up litter, I think, was when I wrote to you in January.  In NC our normal average temperature during the winter months is 50 degrees.  This winter, we have had rain, snow, wind and temperatures mostly in the 30’s.  I’ve been about to go berserk not being able to get outside and walk.
 
Today’s temperature got up to 45 degrees but it was very windy. Yesterday we had wind gust up to 50 mph and our yard was a mess with pine cones and twigs so I decided, regardless of the cold I was going to get outside and clean up the yard.  Tomorrow is looking much better for picking up litter as the wind is suppose to be calmer.  
 
I picked up about 2 bushels of  pine cones and filled a big baby pool twice with limbs and twigs.  It felt so good to be outside working in the sun. Even though it was quite breezy I decided to walk down the road and pick up the litter.  I got in a good walk, not quite a mile, and filled half a bag with litter. Tomorrow I plan to walk the road in the other direction and get that cleaned up.
 
Today, when I got back to the house, I took the bottles and cans out of the bag to recycle and put the remainder of the trash in a 5 gallon bucket and decided to take a picture.  After taking my foot and pressing the trash down in the bucket, I poured it into a Wal-mart bag.  Then I flattened the recyclables and put them in a Wal-mart bag for comparison.  The two bags are equal in size.  The difference is if I had not separated it and it all went to the landfill,  the trash would decompose but the bottles and cans would be there forever.
 
You can put me down for another bucket.  I would not have been able to do all this cleaning up today without my reach extender.  It’s a must have tool for picking up litter and yard debris.

Week 69 – Underdog to the rescue!

Watching the Saints come marching in for victory was great!  Gotta love the underdog.  New Orleans definitely deserves something to cheer about…not to take any kudos away from their athleticism, sheer bravado and tenacity.

We showed our tenacity by running offense at our usual spot.  We’ve been trying to dominate the area by penetrating deep and delving into the line of scrimmage.  Unfortunately our coverage was blown and the other side had field position.

We could barely make a dent and their field advantage overcame us at one point.  But not to worry, just because they had the momentum meant that we could apply the sneak attack come from behind.

What we lacked in rushing, we gained with our double coverage.  We learned that as long as you have the drive and don’t mind encroaching on that neutral zone, anything can happen.  Two buckets in five minutes!  Now hit the showers…

Week 68 – Bucket All!

On Saturday morning Lori and I revisited a littery site on 35th in West Seattle. We quickly filled two buckets around the bus stop and returned home to get ready for a fun night in Olympia with Mom and Dad. When we returned home on Saturday night, we passed our cleanup site and were dismayed to see fresh litter on the ground just six hours later!

Perhaps there are places in every city that are just litter magnets. I was taught that cleanliness begets cleanliness but alas it ain’t always true. Of course we’ll head back to this same spot sometime in the near future, maybe someday we’ll win the battle.

Recently we added a new Bucket Head and are still hopeful that there are others out there who will join the team. Since my Mom was confused about the rules of entry to this elite group allow me to elaborate:

1) You simply need to fill one bucket or bag with litter and email us with a quick story including where you cleaned up and if possible include a picture or two of your clean-up. You do not need to fill a bucket every week (though we certainly won’t discourage you from doing so).

That’s it, there is only one requirement to join the Bucket Head Brigade, now get out there and bucket all!