Member-only story
Why I Dragged 10 kgs of Trash over 5 kms Today (and Would Do It Again!)
Litter-picking story 1: From Cigarette Butts to Car Tires: The Surprising Joys of the Sch(m)utzengel Mission
Today was one of those crisp autumn days that I couldn’t resist but enjoy outside, with the leaves blazing in fiery reds and golds, the sunlight gentle but warm. I went on my weekly litter-picking outing with a friend as a initiator and member of the Sch(m)utzengel, a group of locals dedicated to keeping our town clean. It’s a quirky name — a mix of “Schutzengel” (guardian angels) and “Schmutz” (dirt) — that reflects our mission very well: we’re here to protect the environment and our city from the litter that harms it.
Armed with gloves, grabbers, and sturdy bags, we set off from home. We aimed to cover around 8 kilometers, heading out along a route we often took. At first, it seemed like it would work out; there was hardly any trash to pick up, and we walked briskly, chatting and enjoying the morning.
But as we got to the farthest stretch of our route, we stumbled on a spot that hadn’t been touched in a long time. It was like finding a time capsule of litter — a bush layered with bottles, wrappers, and things I could tell had been left for years, half-buried in the soil. We started to pull out…
