Residents beautify city, build community with DeTrash Syracuse
Detrash Syracuse started as a small cleanup group meant to give back to the community and now has monthly neighborhood trash cleanups. Andrew Denning | Daily Orange File Photo
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After the 2024 general election, Erika, who lives in the city of Syracuse, said she felt “hopeless.”
To clear her head, she started taking walks by herself and picking up trash. She started including her friends and eventually began hosting cleanup events. The group turned into DeTrash Syracuse.
“I didn’t have a sense of agency,” she said. “And I literally thought to myself, is there anything I can possibly do to contribute?”
For one Saturday every month since June, Erika, who requested not to use her last name, and about 20-30 volunteers meet in the city to walk around and pick up trash. The group typically ends the day at a restaurant or a cafe to socialize.
Erika said she’s stunned at the group’s quick growth. The group has picked up over 130 pounds of trash since their first cleanup in June, which she tracks on a spreadsheet. Its next cleanup is on Saturday.
“We are a social group that picks up trash together,” Erika said. “We build community while beautifying local areas.”
After posting about her cleanups on Reddit and Facebook, Erika found many interested people who felt the same powerlessness she had and wanted to do something about it.
Erika, who is a social worker, runs the group by herself, planning the events and managing the group’s Facebook page. Besides one anonymous $40 donation, she has received no outside funding.
“We are 100% volunteer-based,” Erika said. “I am not affiliated with any university. I am not affiliated with any Syracuse-based employer. It is just me, an average citizen.”
While Erika said she cares about detrashing Syracuse neighborhoods, she stresses that the social aspect of the cleanups has a greater impact.
“What I really know for certain is that picking up trash or doing any kind of service work is pretty unpleasant,” Erika said. “It’s physically demanding. It’s boring. It’s monotonous. It’s repetitive. But if you add in community and socialization, suddenly people come back.”
Volunteers such as Will Carver and Morgan Ingraham have been back for all three of the group’s cleanups. Carver said he was looking for a cleanup event on Reddit before coming across Erika’s call for volunteers.
“I go to meet more people and make more friends and feel like I’m doing some small part to help the community,” Carver said.
Ingraham said she feels refreshed, revitalized and fulfilled after each cleanup.
“It feels good to get outside, meet new people, and give back to the Earth,” Ingraham said.
Despite some negative messages Erika has received online, the group has continued to clean up while maintaining a low profile, wearing no uniforms, just name tags and carrying trash bags.
“The biggest challenge is probably physical fatigue and frustration, particularly around micro trash,” Erika said. “Cigarette butts, bottle caps, hair ties, like really small things. I think that is our primary challenge as volunteers.”
During the winter months, when piles of snow or heavy rain make picking up trash difficult, Erika said she plans to bring the group to a food bank instead.
While the group hasn’t collaborated with community businesses or universities, Erika said DeTrash Syracuse is eager to work with more residents and establishments. After having some Le Moyne College students volunteer at her last cleanup, she hopes others will devote their time to the group as well.
“I’d say that this organization is inspiring change already in small but important ways, and our events could have ripple effects for wider policy changes for Syracuse to benefit folks in need,” Ingraham said.
Erika said she believes once people overcome the stigma of picking up trash, more will devote time to the cause. She describes it as a “mental switch” for her and her volunteers, picking up one piece of trash is more than a lot of people do, she said.
Carver said the social aspect of volunteering feels “twice as good” as devoting your time to something helpful.
“You’re doing something beneficial, but it’s fun because you’re meeting a bunch of nice people, chatting with them and just generally having a good time,” Carver said. “You get to have fun and be doing something good.”
