Meet the East LA Trash Walkers, turning neighborhood strolls into community cleanups

When dozens of people gathered in Boyle Heights on a recent Sunday morning, some had traveled miles just to pick up trash.

They came with plastic bags, gloves and trash pickers to join the East LA Trash Walkers, a group that turns casual neighborhood strolls into opportunities to make their community better. What began as an effort by two best friends from Lincoln Heights has turned into a monthly cleanup event that draws volunteers from across Los Angeles, many looking for a way to build community and protect the environment. 

Together, the group has picked up around 570 pounds of trash since the East LA Trash Walkers began last November, hosting walks in Lincoln Heights, Ascot Hills Park, City Terrace and Boyle Heights.

Geena Talley said she was inspired to start the East LA Trash Walkers with her best friend through her work with Friends of the LA River. The organization hosts regular river walks, cleanups and habitat restoration days and has donated materials like trash bags and trash pickers for the East LA Trash Walkers. 

Talley said she grew up learning about the importance of protecting the environment through her grandmother and the Indigenous Karuk Tribe in Northern California, where she is from. 

“I’m from a place (where) we really value taking care of the land and taking care of the water and everything. Everything is connected,” Talley said. “This, to me, just feels like a hands-on way to be able to directly come out and clean up the streets, make people feel … pride about where they come from, where they live.” 

The trash walks have been hosted in neighborhoods across the Eastside, but have inspired volunteers from neighborhoods across LA and other cities to come out and support. 

At a recent trash walk in Boyle Heights, Ximena Hernandez commuted from Culver City to help out.

“I’m somebody who really likes to be a part of a community,” Hernandez said. “What a better way to get to know other people, but also do something for LA, just because there’s a lot of trash everywhere I see.”

Hernandez said she noticed that areas of the city further west, closer to where she lives, tend to have cleaner streets than others. 

“It comes down to resources,” Hernandez said. “Not every community in LA has that.”

Gianna De La Torre, co-founder of the East LA Trash Walkers, noticed the same disparity growing up as a third-generation Lincoln Heights resident.

“I’ve worked in other areas, and just see how different areas of LA have more trees or are more walkable and I think our community deserves the same kind of joy,” she said. 

De La Torre was surprised to see volunteers from the Westside and places as far as Diamond Bar eager to make a difference.  “I hope to get a little more local engagement,” she said.