Savannah Trash Warriors
Tackling litter pollution one bucket at a time
Picture: The Savannah Trash Warriors one-year-anniversary cleanup in August 2019 with Lisa Ring, candidate to represent the 1st Congressional District of Georgia. All photography by Jenna Bower
Litter Tracker
This graphic shows the impact on litter pickup that the Savannah Trash Warriors have had. It showcases the amount of trash and recycling litter picked up at every cleanup event since the first cleanup on August 18th, 2018, as well as the number of volunteers that came to each event.
The monetary value of hours worked comes from a statistic from United Way of the Coastal Empire that one volunteer hour in Georgia is valued at $25.
Savannah Trash warriors
Savannah Trash Warriors began in August of 2018 when two co-workers at Gulfstream Areospace, Stacey Fuller and Jenna Bower, decided to take action against litter in their neighborhoods.
Before Trash Warriors even had a name, the two friends would take turns going to each others neighborhoods every other weekend to cleanup litter. During cleanups and coffee shop meetings on Saturday mornings, the two would discuss how they might create a bigger impact on litter and waste in the city of Savannah.
Bower, a recent graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design’s Design for Sustainability program, knew that litter pickup was a last-ditch effort in a long string of overconsumption and waste issues to keep plastic and other single-use items out of storm drains and local waterways. In order to make a bigger impact on litter not ending up in the ocean or in a landfill, the two have decided to reach out to neighborhood associations and other passionate litter pickers in Savannah to coordinate a collective impact.
Savannah Trash Warriors goal as an organization is to work with as many neighborhoods and other stakeholders in Savannah as possible in order to create a movement around litter and waste that is visible, consistent and inclusive. Savannah Trash Warriors aims to raise awareness and educate about the effects of litter and of the system of waste production; to foster a collaborative effort to tackle these issues in Savannah; and to empower communities to come together and make change.
Savannah Trash Warriors meets in a new neighborhood every Saturday morning at 8am to do litter pickups. They work with neighborhood associations and residents to organize cleanups and get residents out to the events. While they hope that residents are already passionate about the neighborhood in which they live, they also want to foster a Savannah in which different neighborhoods can come together and support one another.
Different from other cleanups organized around Savannah, the Trash Warriors actively separate our trash, recycling, and cigarette butts during cleanups. Cigarette butts are collected and sent to the recycling company Terracycle.
Savannah Trash Warriors hopes to provoke conversations that can help lead Savannah to a zero-waste and sustainable environment for all residents, current and future.
All photography by Jenna Bower
Wildlife Protection
When we do litter pickups, we help more than just our human communities. We help our broader community too: the plants and animals that we share our local environment with. Here are some of the plants and critters we’ve found during our cleanup events! Check out some of the awesome critters we’ve spotted on our cleanups! It’s amazing what you can find when you slow down and take the time to explore your surroundings.
Organizing Litter Pickup Events
We use Google My Maps to strategize and plan which neighborhoods we’ll do cleanups in each week. We share this information with neighborhood associations and residents and actively welcome input as to which spot we should add to our cleanup list.
Learn More
To learn more about what Savannah Trash Warriors is up to, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If you’re in Savannah and want to get involved in organizing litter pickup events or working on other waste reduction project, join the Savannah Trash Warriors Group on Facebook!
All photography by Jenna Bower
In the News
Thanks to Savannah’s local media for taking the time to feature us in their broadcasts and publications!