Yesterday Sunday Pick Me Up returned in full force with our biggest event yet! Over SIXTY of you wonderful Worldies hit the streets of Sakae to take out the trash. In one hour, we collected over 35kg of rubbish! 
Since this event began in 2019, we haven’t just gathered trash, we’ve also gathered a huge following! Just look at all of you! 
In light of this, we’ve decided to revisit our Eco-Habits for those of you who didn’t get a chance to hear them the first time around.
So, our first Eco-Habit of 2021 is…
Say no to plastic bags, bring your own!
Originally invented in the early 1960s by Sten Gustaf Thulin, plastic bags were designed to be a strong, simple bag that could be used again and again, with a lifespan between 500 and 1000 years. Fast forward to the 2020s, and the plastic bag is in use for an average of twelve minutes before being thrown away.
Over a trillion plastic bags are produced each year, discarded into the environment and eventually causing the death of more than one million sea birds and over 100,000 dolphins, sharks, turtles and whales by suffocation or ingestion.
Since the plastic bag charge came into effect in Japan last year, we’ve seen a significant decrease in the number of bags we collect from the street – which is fantastic news! It looks like a lot of us have already adopted this Eco-Habit! Let’s keep it up, take your eco-bags with you and avoid buying single-use plastics whenever you can.
Thank you so, so much for attending yet another successful Sunday Pick Me Up, you guys are Nagoya’s Eco-Heroes! Please share these photos with your friends on social media, invite them to future events, and let’s make Nagoya the shining, green jewel of Japan.
We’ll see you on May 9 for the next Sunday Pick Me Up!
– Matthew, Katrin & Rodrigo
