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It's not science fiction: clean walks are becoming more and more popular. But what are they? What do they want from us? What are their networks? We tell you EVERYTHING.
Paris, Choiseul district, April 27, 2022, noon. A fine breeze caresses the city, cars hum at the stop signs, pigeons scan the shoulders of passers-by. A usual atmosphere. Suddenly, a dozen or so individuals wearing strange navy blue caps come into the neighborhood. They exchange pairs of latex gloves, some taking only one. Equipped with "untraceable" plastic bags, they separate into small teams...
Sonia*, a passer-by, doesn't miss a thing: each team starts to pick up what's lying around on the pavement: cigarette butts, bottles, subway tickets, sandwich wrappers, corks... One of them even tries to remove a piece of chewing gum stuck on a bench. It's a waste of time.
Sonia is at first shocked: "Don't they have anything else to do, these people? Moreover, they laugh, they exchange with the passers-by. Too weird.
Yet, discreetly, Sonia picks up the cigarette butt she had just abandoned at the foot of the manhole indicating that the sea begins here. She looks behind her, anxious, and throws the waste in a dustbin.
This not-so-fictional story is about the WeWard teams who participated in their first clean walk together last spring.
Still a bit blue, we didn't weigh our booty and therefore don't have any figures to give you (well, except "5 bags", but that doesn't mean much).
The operation lasted two hours, during lunch time. A small gesture that doesn't change the world, but which (once again, we repeat) adds up to thousands of other small gestures that together count.
It's a concept that has been around for a few years now, with a very simple principle: collect waste during a walk or a stroll.
Walking, WeWard... See the connection? Yes, I do.
Everyone can participate in a clean walk, for 10 minutes, 2 hours, or all the time! It is both friendly and empowering for everyone (for example, for Sonia).
If. According to the cleanwalk.org platform, 20 billion tons of waste are dumped into the oceans every year, 1.5 million animals die because of plastic waste over the same period of time and it is estimated that a human ingests 5 grams of plastic per day on average. And yes, they are so everywhere that our vegetables grow with them and the animals we eat graze on them. Enjoy your meal?
Well in your head, well in your body, well in your planet? We're not sure about the slogan, but in any case, it's a reality. Walking was already the best way to stay physically and mentally healthy and now you know that it also allows you to collect waste for a (slightly) cleaner future!
Before ending this article, we would like to remind the work of the cleaners of the city of Paris (and everywhere in France) and assure them of our gratitude and support. Every day in Paris, 2,900 km of sidewalks are swept (the distance between Paris and Moscow).
A clean walk action can never replace everything they do on a daily basis, so thank you to them.
Take up our challenge, join clean walking actions near you and tag us on social networks!
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