We are doing it!
Thank you volunteers and sponsors.
This year, we continue our Trees4Trash™ campaign that we founded after Hurricane Florence destroyed so many of our old growth trees and spewed trash across the land and sea; hence the dawn of our campaign,
removing what doesn't belong and replacing it with what does.
Sign our Highway Cleanup Petition
Here!
Thank you volunteers and sponsors.
This year, we continue our Trees4Trash™ campaign that we founded after Hurricane Florence destroyed so many of our old growth trees and spewed trash across the land and sea; hence the dawn of our campaign,
removing what doesn't belong and replacing it with what does.
Sign our Highway Cleanup Petition
Here!
Trees4Trash is sponsored by: Duke Energy
Our initiative has become a beacon of hope on land and sea. Since Plastic Ocean Project, Inc. introduced the Trees4Trash™ Initiative in 2019, we have removed over 37,000 lbs. of trash and have planted over 2,000 trees. We commit to planting 1 tree for every 25 lbs. of trash we remove from the environment. Due to the increasing frequency of super storms, communities are losing their old growth trees at an alarming rate. These storms also compound the amount of man-made debris entering our rivers, waterways, and oceans. Trees aid in slowing down the progression of storms inland and reducing the number of buildings destroyed. Trees also uptake CO2, among our greatest defense against climate change. Trees4Trash addresses two major environmental issues ocean debris and climate change.
The goal of the program is to remove mass quantities of debris in areas that have little chance of being picked up, other than by wind and rain that wash it into watersheds that feed into the ocean. Quantifying the weight of the debris serves as an educational opportunity to express the sheer volume of debris in the environment. Committing to plant hundreds to thousands of trees will cast a wider net of participants who are passionate about trees, trash, and climate change.
We hold monthly cleanups, especially in remote areas badly impacted by storms and liter bombs. We enlist volunteers from elementary schools to university students, with POP volunteers of all ages to come out for two hour cleanups in and around North Carolina. We car pool to reduce our carbon footprint getting to the site. We provide all reusable cleanup supplies. Volunteers fill large reusable plastic bags donated by Ocean Conservancy. Once filled, the volunteers bring the bags to the weigh station. The weight is recorded, any recyclables are separated, and the debris is poured into garbage bins and hauled to the landfill.
We conduct plantings at various locations in and around North Carolina, including parks that lost trees from storms. That’s just a start. The Plastic Ocean Project works with the Alliance for Cape Fear Trees, the City of Wilmington, to help plant trees and the New Hanover County Arboretum aides in the select of native trees. New Hanover Waste Management Habitat Conservation and Restoration Stewardship Program has provided locations for us to plant, and we will continue to add additional locations. The trees are purchased from the NC Forest Service and supported by donations to the Plastic Ocean Project.
One of the many benefits is that Trees4Trash™ can be replicated anywhere! We hope to continue to build partnerships with this program and restore the environment by removing man-made debris and increasing the tree canopy across our country. Want to join us? Contact [email protected].
View our Volunteer Cleanup Activity Waiver and Liability Release Form
