The 32-year-old man started picking up litter for his mental health and now he and his family are helping give back to their community by spending quality time together cleaning up.
Mike Scotland began struggling with depression in his late twenties, and after a period of suffering, he attempted suicide by founding a pile of rubbish on the banks of the River Don in his hometown of Aberdeen, England.
Thankfully, his mind changed, but every time Mike passed a river known as the local garbage dump, the trash reminded him of those dark days, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.
“I was in a really dark place,” Mike told SWNS News. “Thank goodness a phone call stopped me there but after that every time I passed that spot I felt like a dark shadow was haunting me.”
“One day, I took three black bags and went to the riverside and started picking up trash.
“A cyclist stopped me and asked me what I was doing. I told him I was picking up trash and he asked if I needed help.
“He parked his bike and the man and I spent the next few hours together picking up trash and having an open and honest conversation about everything.
Before Mike went home, he told the stranger that he was going to start a scavenger hunt group.
True to his promise, Mike started a community cleanup group the very next day, and over the next few months they met weekly to beautify the land around the river. So far, they’ve removed nearly 30,000 pounds (13,500 kg) of trash and recovered a whopping 5,500 pounds (2,500 kg) of metal from the riverbed.
“We had about four to six people at the first event, and in the end, we cleaned up over 300kg (660lbs) of trash in about two hours.
The next weekend, ten people showed up, the harvest doubled, and soon after, we actually saw an otter swimming up the river for the first time in 40 years.
“We transformed that whole area as a community and made it vibrant again.”
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Mike, now a father of three, says his whole family regularly picks up litter, especially his five-year-old son Lucio, who first picked up litter as a toddler.
“I remember when my son was 18 months old, I took him to the park and he found an empty bottle. Again, he picked it up and threw it in the bin.”
“One of the things that fathers and sons used to do was dress up as Batman and go out and ‘fight trash.’ It’s a great way to get my son outside and teach him about the environment.”
Mike recalls that in the aftermath of Storm Babette last year, the amount of rubbish that washed up was “horrifying”.
“He had never seen anything like it. He didn’t understand why people were walking past it and wanted to help clean it up. He asked me to find people who could help, so I did a Facebook Live video showing everyone how bad it was and asking for help.”
“Within about 45 minutes, 25 people came to help.
Things were so chaotic that the dynamic duo spent the next few weeks organizing the event and speaking to local media, drawing some 350 people and finishing up the removal of more than 400 bags of storm debris.
“It was really inspiring to see that there are so many people out there who want to do good.”
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Mike and his partner Nikki now have a database of more than 100 local litter-hating residents, which they lend out to groups who want to take on the cleanup themselves.
Mike said he couldn’t be proud of the work his children have accomplished and that they give him hope for the future.
“For me as a parent, it’s really encouraging to see my kids so motivated to make a difference. It’s become second nature to them now.”
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“Their mindset is centered on doing good things for the right reasons. They’re not doing it for attention or praise, they’re doing it because it’s the right thing to do.”
“Over time, this should reduce the number of people dumping rubbish in the first place.
“It’s a long-term goal. I don’t know if I’ll achieve it in my lifetime, but I’ll try my best.”
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