This is a real trashy story.
It’s about people who think our planet is their garbage can, and about a young wife and mom of three who wishes it would stop.
Lauren Schumacher and her family moved from St. Louis to Spring Hill about six months ago.
She worked as a special education teacher in Missouri and is now a health and wellness coach working from home.
And while she loves the Sunshine State, the amounts of trash on highways in her neighborhood upset her.
“Knowing that this was something that had been bothering me, I decided why not spend 30 minutes, an hour a week and pick a different spot every week to help out,” Schumacher said.
And business, if you will, has been great.
“A lot of plastic bags, a lot of plastic bottles and cans. And then fast food bags,” Schumacher said.
Now let’s take a look at those cans again.
This is some, not all, of just the aluminum cans Schumacher picked up in one month. The fact that many are beer cans is a whole different story.
A guy everyone looks up to, her husband Patrick, fully supports Schumacher’s “trash travels” and adds that the spirit volunteering and community is nothing new to her.
And that, he says, adds up to a valuable lesson for their kids.
“If you see something that you don’t think is right, don’t be afraid to ask questions and don’t be afraid to act,” Patrick Schumacher said.
And while his wife realizes all this is just a drop in the bucket she attacks the trash with kind of an out of sight, out of mind approach.
“I do feel like if it’s there on the ground it makes it easier for others to put it there on the ground as well,” Lauren said.