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​Young Climate Activist Spends 589 Consecutive Days Picking Up Litter Along Hiking Trail

​Young Climate Activist Spends 589 Consecutive Days Picking Up Litter Along Hiking Trail

Edgar McGregor, 20, decided he wanted to single-handedly clean up Eaton Canyon, a route that’s one of LA’s most popular hiking spots

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

A young climate activist has spent 589 consecutive days picking up litter along a popular hiking trail in Los Angeles, in turn ensuring it's completely free of waste.

Edgar McGregor, 20, decided he wanted to single-handedly clean up Eaton Canyon, a route that's one of LA's most popular hiking spots.

Areas with such a high football inevitably often suffer from similarly high levels of rubbish, but McGregor made it his mission to clear Eaton Canyon up - a task that ended up taking him 589 days.

Starting in May 2019, McGregor simply went down to the park every day to collect any litter he could find, filling up at least two buckets each time.

And now, after nearly two years on the go, he's finally made sure the trail is completely 'free of municipal waste', having shared a video on Twitter to celebrate the conclusion of his ambitious challenge.

Twitter/@edgarrmcgregor

On 5 March, the last day of his cleanup, McGregor wrote: "I AM DONE!!! I DID IT!!! After **589** days of picking up trash every single day, I can say with confidence that Eaton Canyon, one of Los Angeles's most popular hiking trail, is now free of municipal waste! I'VE DONE IT!!! WOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"

In the clip, he explained the area welcomes 600,000 visitors every year, along with 'so much trash'.

He said: "In May 2019, I decided to bring out one-to-two buckets per day and pick up trash, whether it was 117 degrees or if it was raining ash and the mountains were on fire, or if it was pouring down with rain, it didn't matter.

"I was out here for at least an hour every single day cleaning up my park."

His tweet has since gone viral, racking up more than 100,000 likes and 11,000 retweets, along with hundreds of comments from people praising his efforts.

Even Greta Thunberg gave McGregor a virtual pat on the back, replying to his tweet: "Well done and congratulations!!"

McGregor also vowed to continue pickup up litter a couple of days a week, saying in follow-up tweets: "I will continue to pick up here about 2-3 days per week until Covid is over, depending on how much new trash is littered.

"Once Covid is over, that'll have to be much more often as hikers flood my park by the thousands. We're on a reservation system rn, so hiker count is limited.

"Until then, however, other parks nearby really need my help. Tomorrow I will check out a brand new park I have never been to. I expect the trash situation to be bad, but we'll see.

"I LOVE these cleanups, and I absolutely implore you all to try this. Give it a shot!"

He also urged LA County Parks to hire permanent staff to help clean up the parks, adding: "Don't rely on volunteers like myself. Eaton Canyon is now in great shape, but I know for a fact that other parks nearby are a disaster."

Featured Image Credit: Twitter/@edgarrmcgregor

Topics: News, US News