Florida woman hits halfway point in her viral journey to pick up one million pieces of litter
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Littering is a problem across the country, but it's especially urgent in Florida, with all the coastal access in the Sunshine State.
That's why Emily Smith is doing everything she can to stop litter from causing more issues.
"I gave myself the goal of a million pieces, because I knew it wouldn't be something I could do overnight," Emily Smith, the founder of Million Little Pieces, said.
Courtesy: Emily Smith
Million Little Pieces is her social media presence across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, where she documents her journey to picking up one million pieces of litter.
She started this journey on social media on March 20, 2024.
The backstory:
This whole mission started as a fitness journey post-car accident for Smith.
"I started going on walks and, um, walking around Jacksonville and seeing all the trash really just frustrated me," Smith said. "So, I was like, I'm just going to start cleaning it up."
By the numbers:
One million pieces of litter is a goal easier said than done. Yet, Smith is halfway there.
Courtesy: Emily Smith
She hit 500,000 pieces of litter on Tuesday while she was live on TikTok.
"If I can do half, I can do the other half," Smith said.
What they're saying:
Smith is motivated to keep the planet clean.
"We all live here, and we all share this one place," Smith said. "So, to allow something else to ruin a place, I feel like I'm just as responsible if I see the problem and I don't do something about it."
She is also motivated by her 77,000 social media followers who help keep her accountable on her page.
"When I'm cleaning up, I get a lot of honking and people stopping their cars or waving at me, a lot like, thank you for doing that," Smith said. "And a lot of people have thought I was in legal trouble and having to like make up community service hours, which definitely is not the case. And then online, it's almost entirely positive."
Big picture view:
The teacher has inspired countless others to join her challenge in picking up litter around the world.
"I have people literally all over the world," Smith said. "I think I've counted like 20 different countries, and you know, 30 different states that have been sent in."
Courtesy: Emily Smith
And the students in her class join in at recess to pick up trash.
"I have, you know, students that want to clean up with me every single day, even on days when I'm not out at recess cleaning up," Smith said. "I feel like a little mama duck with her like 10 ducklings behind her, all cleaning up trash."
What you can do:
If you want to get involved, you can join the "Million Little Pieces" follower challenge by picking up litter and sending in the amount to Smith on her social media channels. You can find her on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
If you want to join a group, there are Keep America Beautiful Chapters across the state of Florida, including Tampa Bay, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota and Manatee counties.
What's next:
When Smith hits one million pieces of litter, she will immediately start a new challenge of picking up a piece of litter for every follower she gets through this challenge and beyond.
The Source: Information in this story comes from an interview with a Florida woman who has a goal of picking up one million pieces of litter.