Minneapolis Earth Day Cleanup

Choosing to wake up at 9am without any work obligations or epic bike rides may be a sign of me turning thirty.  Of course, I still stayed up until about 3am the night before, so I think I'm still legit.

On Saturday, April 21st, at 9:30am dull, my girlfriend and I rode our bikes the four blocks to Bryant Square Park (we wanted to fulfill our 30 Days of Biking obligation) to volunteer for the annual Minneapolis Earth Day Cleanup.  The forecast called for rain and more rain, but the skies were dry when we left, and we were going to test our luck.

The first wave of forces were dispersing as we left.  We went up to the registration table run by Julie Cohen, chair of the Livability & Engagement Commitee for CARAG, signed the waiver, and got our bags - one for trash, one for recycling.

Cleaning up litter can be fairly labor intensive if you want it to be.  At the beginning, we were picking up every single cigarette butt in sight.  As time went on, we may have a few more butts here and there.  If you're a smoker, please consider finding some way to not litter your butts.  There are designated receptacles throughout Uptown, there are some specialized containers you can buy, or you can just use a friggin' plastic baggie.  Otherwise, you're littering something that contains cadmium, arsenic, lead, and plastic.

Later on, we found some more interesting detritus: Christian proselytism, USI Wireless ads, a lego skeleton, a plastic ring.  We also spotted five different window kitties, all within a block of our apartment.

Our last landmark was the house at 31st and Colfax that had a moat of beer cans, butts, one condom, and other crap surrounding it.  After that house, we were fully exhausted, but we were fortunately a block from the park.  We dumped our bags with the previous bags - one containing the back of a monitor.

At the end, I entered the recreation center I have lived by for six years or more for the first time.  I ate a bit of muffin and a some Bull Run Coffee.

And just then, the rain started.  The Earth gave us a break on her birthday.