Local resident Kenneth Winn has spent more than a decade picking up litter in Dallas.
He says it all began about 12 years ago in Mesquite when he saw another person littering in a Home Depot parking lot.
“There’s no sense dumping your trash out someplace like that,” Winn told WFAA. “I started noticing it more and said, ‘I’m gonna do something about it.'”
In December, Winn will turn 80 years old. Despite his age, he has spent thousands of hours picking up trash including everything from discarded tires to empty cups, loading garbage in the back of his trailer. Winn does not get paid for his work.
“If you give up, it won’t get picked up,” he said. “I figured I want to try and make a difference.”
He said that many times, he would pick up trash in one spot only to find it littered with garbage again the next day. Still, he said he has no plans to give up any time soon.
“I love people too and I love doing something good,” he said.
Winn also collects discarded shopping carts and donates them to the local food bank Inspired Vision.
“We have 5-10 carts that walk off every day,” said Inspired Vision CEO Teadran White. “If Ken didn’t do what he did, we would have a hard time functioning.”
Winn said he hopes his actions inspire others to make a positive impact in their community as well.
“Just to see your actions goes a long way,” he said, per WFAA.
Winn is another example of local residents who have stepped up to clean the Dallas area, while voters say the government is not doing enough to maintain cleanliness.
A previous satisfaction survey from the City of Dallas has shown that a plurality of Dallas residents believe the City does a “poor” job of keeping Dallas clean.
Meanwhile, volunteer cleanup initiatives have been undertaken by local groups such as A Better Dallas.
The Metroplex Civic & Business Association recently launched a new “Adopt-A-Block” cleanup program to encourage local companies to take part in cleaning up the city.
