A climate change activist has taken to social media to share how he spent a whopping total of 589 consecutive days cleaning trash and waste from the site of a popular hiking trail near Los Angeles.
According to NPR, Edgar McGregor has spent more than a year meticulously picking up litter left by careless tourists visiting Eaton Canyon - a part of the Angeles National Forest in Southern California - despite the area regularly facing wildfires, rainfall, and scorching temperatures.
The 20-year-old has been documenting the long and wearying cleanup process on his official Twitter account - regularly updating his 17,800 followers on his progress.
But in an inspirational post made on Friday, March 5, Edgar revealed that he had finally managed to tidy up the entire canyon trail single-handedly.
Sharing a video of himself picking up and binning the last piece of litter, Edgar wrote: "I AM DONE!!! I DID IT!!!
"After **589** days of picking up trash every single day, I can say with confidence that Eaton Canyon, one of Los Angeles's most popular hiking trail, is now free of municipal waste! I'VE DONE IT!!! WOOOOOO!!!!!!!! [sic]"
Edgar's post quickly picked up plenty of attention online and has now accrued over 10,000 retweets and 105,000 likes as of the time of writing, with a number of other Twitter users sending him their heartfelt congratulations.
For example, one person wrote: "That is pretty f***ing awesome. Way to go!
"I hope your journey will inspire people to be more conscious of their impact so that a heroic effort like yours will not be necessary anymore. But for now, just bask in the glory of your achievement - you did an amazing job!! [sic]"
Meanwhile, someone else wrote: "Congratulations. That is a massive achievement! It’s been amazing watching your journey. [sic]"
Another person added: "Thank you, Edgar! You’re a hero."
Someone else chimed in: "Great job, Edgar - you're setting such a wonderful example and we're all thankful for people like you."
Even climate change activist Greta Thunberg sent Edgar congratulations of her own, writing on Twitter: "Well done and congratulations!! [sic]"
NPR reports that Edgar McGregor was inspired to begin his massive cleanup project after learning that LA would be hosting the 2028 summer games.
Concerned that its litter-cluttered national forest would become a "global embarrassment," Edgar took matters into his own hands, and started venturing out into the woods after working 12-hou-longr warehouse shifts, equipped with little more than buckets, gloves, and sneakers.
In later a follow-up post, Edgar wrote: "I will continue to pick up here about 2-3 days per week until COVID is over, depending on how much new trash is littered.
"Once COVID is over, that'll have to be much more often as hikers flood my park by the thousands. We're on a reservation system rn, so hiker count is limited. [sic]"
He added: "Until then, however, other parks nearby really need my help. Tomorrow I will check out a brand new park I have never been to. I expect the trash situation to be bad, but we'll see.
"I LOVE these cleanups, and I absolutely implore you all to try this. Give it a shot! [sic]"
