- J
Hi. My name is Gus Vandermeeren. I'm looking for some help with some of the many expenses associated with my "hobby", which is cleaning Raleigh roads, parks, and creeks of trash/litter. I do this to the tune of more than 1200 big bags a year. Please google "Gus Vandermeeren" to see some of the things that have been written about me.
Where to begin?
In January 2020, I stuffed a few plastic Walmart bags into my pockets and went out and picked some litter off my street. The next week I bought a pick up tool. I started doing it more and more often, switching soon to kitchen trash bags, then within a month to 50 gal bags and going out 3 times a week. I found a notebook on the street and started keeping a log. My hobby/obsession continued to grow. In 2022 (?), when my bag count was only at 2000, our local NBC station, WRAL did a 4 minute segment about me on the news. I've also received a certificate of appreciation from the NC DOT (dept of transportation ), a standing ovation from a joint session of the NC legislature here in Raleigh, and the Raleigh parks department's "Fred Fletcher" award (given for outstanding volunteer effort). If you google my name you should find plenty of stuff about me and my hobby.
But I do have expenses.
- Gas for my cargo van. I bought it to support my work. As I fill bags, I leave them at the side of the road. At the end of the day I collect them and bring them to a place designated especially for me by the NC DOT (I have adopted two roads via their Adopt-A-Highway program, and one of the DOT employees told me that I fill more bags than any other individual in the state). I sometimes drive around looking for especially dirty road sections. All this puts miles on my van and uses gas.
- money for bags. I use about 1200 bags every year.
- money for laundry. I often clean out abandoned homeless sites (so, so many--it's sad). I take anything that's useable and either put it at my street corner with a "free" sign (always goes fast), or give it to a thrift shop. I find an enormous amount of clothing and blankets. After taking only the ones that have no holes, missing parts, broken zippers, and stains that probably won't come out, I take them home, wash them, and bring the good stuff to the thrift shop (warm coats and blankets I often give back directly to homeless). I average about 3 loads of laundry a week--a big truck load each year. It takes a lot of time to process all this laundry. And the water, electricity, detergent, and fabric softener costs add up to a very substantial amount. And once there was something in a pocket that gummed up the washer, causing an expensive repair. [True story: One day i came home with several bags of laundry. I left them in the garage for a few days. When I finally got around to washing them, I opened the door to my washing machine after a completed cycle, and ... out jumped a (very clean) surprisingly healthy and vigorous FROG! The darn thing had survived several days in a plastic bag, then an entire hot wash cycle, including a super fast spin cycle. -- When it jumped out it surprised the ____ out of me!!! :-) ]
- Cart and other miscellaneous costs. Because I have a semi-crippled left arm, early on I switched from carrying the bag to pulling a cart. At first it was a cart I had found, but it was top heavy and the small wheels bogged down in long grass. I have since then bought one. I love it. But it cost almost $400. And I'm sure i put more miles on it than it was designed for. So I'll probably need to replace it every couple of years.
I call my hobby "picking", but it's really more than just picking up litter. Service to my society is what it's all about. So, as I go, I also ...
- report broken lights, broken road signs, potholes, ...
- clean clogged storm drains (when/where safe to do so)
- clear vines and branches away from street signs.
- recycle aluminum (i fill an average of two big bags of cans per week)
- empty bus stop trash cans if full)
- keep sidewalks clear (my 1st wife passed away after a long struggle with MS. She was in a wheelchair for several years. So I see all sidewalks with the question "Are there any wheelchair (or stroller) obstacles that I need to clear?"
- ... lend a hand wherever I can. Examples: helped a lady catch her runaway dog / directed traffic around a broken down car / served as peace-maker when tempers got heated in a dispute between two parties at a park (prevented violence) // ...
A friend once asked me "Why are you doing what the city should be doing?". My answer was/is
"why not?". To paraphrase JFK, "ask not what your government can do for you, ask what you can do for your world/society". What I do ...
- saves society money. If I can do something, then our government (AKA "we") don't have to spend money to do it. Which means there's a little more money for ... free school lunches, medical care for the needy, parks, ...
- makes our public places look nicer.
- keeps trash out of the ocean. Every piece of trash that blows/washes into a creek or storm drain stands a good chance of ending up in the ocean
- serves as a role model. At least three people have told me that after seeing me, they now pick up a bag now and then and clean their neighborhood
- Hopefully spread joy and hope. I often wear a shirt that says "Neighborhood Volunteer". I do this not to toot my own horn, but to spread joy and hope. There are soooo many great people in the world, people doing things to make the world a better place. But too often we hide this. And thus people don't see the truth, which is that most people are good most of the time, and there's an enormous amount of good in the world. If everyone who did volunteer work, or takes good care of a sick child, spouse, parent, etc..., or frequently checks on their elderly neighbor, or ... If all those people were required to, one day a year, wear an orange shirt, we would be overwhelmed with orange. But people often have an incorrect negative media/entertainment inspired view of the world as evil and dangerous. By being a visible volunteer I hope to counter some of that.
I go out almost every day when the weather and my schedule permits, on average about 3 times a week, an average of 3 hours each outing. As of july 9, 2025, my bag count is at 8,813. At 13 pounds per bag, that's 114,000 pounds, about 57 tons. I hope to get to 10,000 bags within 2 years. Hopefully my 66 year old body will hold out long enough (within the last 3 years i have had both neck and back vertebrae surgery, as well as shoulder rotator cuff surgery).
Please google "Gus Vandermeeren" for some evidence of what I've written here.
Thank you. And peace to all of you.
