77 year old makes the world nicer

A Minnesota man picks up trash around his community six days a week to help the environment. For five years, Doug Eichten has been picking up around 15 pounds of trash every week along a two mile stretch of road in his hometown of Plymouth. He does it as part of his county’s Adopt-a-Highway program and was inspired to start after seeing roadside trash during a trip to Florida.

The 77-year-old environmentalist is less concerned about how the trash on the roadside looks, and more concerned that it might endanger wildlife. "All of this stuff, on a decent rain, goes into the storm sewers, into the ponds, into the creeks, heads for the Mississippi," he explains. "And God forbid, it makes its way to the Gulf of Mexico."

Eichten’s neighbor, Hennepin County spokesperson Carolyn Marinan calls him a “superstar.” She wishes more people would follow his lead, and he agrees. He wants his dedication to cleaning up the environment to be an example for younger community members. "I hope it's used with the children as a teaching moment. Because there's no need for [littering] and it should be unacceptable," he says. "You can complain about these things, or you can do something about them."

Source: People


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