People of Rochester - Suzanne and Chris

I was walking home from the Rochester Public Market when I spotted Chris and Suzanne picking up trash on the opposite side of Circle Street. They weren’t wearing any kind of uniforms or clothing that would have identified them as official city employees. Now I was really curious, so I doubled back and introduced myself.

Suzanne said that she and Chris ride their bikes to the Rochester Public Market every Saturday morning, so, “we get a wonderful view every week of the garbage on Circle Street.” When I spoke with them, they said it was their first time picking up trash on this street. Suzanne said she’s been planning for weeks to come back and pick up the garbage on Circle Street.

Chris said, “We’ve been doing this for years in the neighborhood around our house. Wherever we walk, we carry a bag and fill it.” They live near Monroe Ave, and “there’s lots of opportunities (to clean up trash) there,” Suzanne said. After they fill the bags, they find an available bin to dispose of the trash-filled bags.

In 2013, Suzanne initiated the “Dash for Trash” program when she was employed at the University of Rochester. She was a runner who had been picking up trash she found during her running workouts around the U of R campus.

The Dash for Trash program encouraged students and U of R employees to pick up trash they spotted on the campus while running. The program supplied compostable trash bags and latex gloves to runners.

Chris and Suzanne have been cleaning up neighborhood trash for about 10 years, they said.

They’re members of the Nextdoor Park Avenue listserv, and they sometimes organize trash pickup events, where they invite members of the list to join them at a particular location to pick up trash on the street. For example, they cleaned out trash from under the Monroe overpass on the 490 expressway.

It’s sad that some people just toss their trash onto city streets, but it’s inspiring to see passionate, conscientious people like Suzanne and Chris taking responsibility to clean up after those people.

Thanks, Suzanne and Chris!