Picking Up Trash, Raleigh Man Inspires Others To Clean Up

RALEIGH, NC — Gus Vandermeeren has always made a point of being useful to society in some way. So when he saw a commercial in January 2020 about the harm plastic does in the ocean, he got off his couch and started doing his part to help combat the global problem.

The 62-year-old computer programmer at Meredith College in Raleigh has spent much of his free time picking up trash alongside roads in east Raleigh, according to a WRAL report. He logs his adventures in a notebook he found on the side of a road during one of his cleanups, the report states.

Vandermeeren has now filled more than 2,000 large bags of trash, all of which he personally drops off at a landfill.

“I have always had a feeling that I am not really happy unless I am being useful to society in some way,” Vandermeeren told the news station.

And he has inspired others. A group of about 25 people regularly volunteer to pick up trash with Vandermeeren, some of whom plan to take part in his next cleanup event set for April 24 in the area of New Bern Avenue and I-440 in Raleigh.

One of them, Trent Parson, told the news station "we have to make this world a better place for all of us."

Read more from WRAL