She picked up trash as she caught Pokémon. It took off. Meet the Sumner Cleaning Crew
Katlin Lawless took a walk every morning in the summertime to play Pokémon GO.
She came across characters such as Turtwig and Charmander as she played the mobile game. She also came across litter.
What started as a form of exercise evolved into a community clean-up effort.
“I saw all the trash every single day, and I just got tired of looking at it,” Lawless said.
She started bringing a small grocery bag on her walks at first. She would walk from her home in Sumner to the Daffodil Valley Sports Complex or Fred Meyer. As days went by, she realized that her bag wasn’t big enough for the amount of garbage she saw.
Eventually, she started using a wagon to carry the trash bags. She bought a trash grabber stick, broom and dustpan. Then she established a Facebook group called the Sumner Cleaning Crew in July, garnering over 100 people.
Lawless said when the group was established people donated trash bags and money, which she used to purchase more trash bags as well as sharps containers for needles they may find.
Lawless’ trash haul usually includes masks, hand sanitizer wipes and merchandise security tags, among other items. She finishes her walks with about two, 13-gallon bags per day. She used to go out at least five days a week, but as the days grow colder, she goes out once a week.
“After Christmas, I’ll be able to go out almost every day again,” Lawless said.
Cleaning up garbage and facilitating the Sumner Cleaning Crew is a way for Lawless to contribute to the community without having to go out of her comfort zone very much, she said.
Members have met up with her on occasion for cleanups. Often, individuals in the group go out on their own.
“I really did not expect to turn it into a group originally,” Lawless said. “My husband was the one that encouraged me to do that because he felt that it was a good thing to do and that he thought I could get other people to join in.”
Brian Doherty, a member of the Sumner Cleaning Crew, regularly posts his walking route and trash haul on the group page. He usually takes hour-long walks, and he even created a makeshift trash-collecting cart out of his old golf pushcart.
“It’s just kind of like walking with a purpose,” Doherty said. “I’m getting my walking in, I’m picking up the trash but also talking to a lot of people.”
Doherty said he started helping pick up trash around the same time the group was formed. He would go on his walks four or five times per week, frequently picking up things such as cigarette butts and fast-food containers.
Doherty switches his routes from time to time, depending on what is going to be the “funnest,” he said. He often stays on the main roads or makes his way toward a local church. He racks up about 10 to 12 13-gallon bags per week.
“I’m pretty focused,” Doherty said. “I don’t let any piece of trash go. … I’ve got good peripheral vision.”
Those interested in getting involved can reach out to the Sumner Cleaning Crew’s Facebook page.
