Volunteer Clears Cardboard and Food Packaging from Franz Hall Landscaping

During a lunch break at UCLA, one volunteer took two minutes to clean up a small but noticeable patch of landscaping near Franz Hall in Los Angeles. The spot sits beside a seating area used by students, staff, and visitors, and the litter was easy to miss until someone looked closely around the plants and benches.

The cleanup focused on paper, cardboard, food-related packaging, and plastic bags tucked among the groundcover. In the before photo, cardboard packaging and scattered scraps stand out beneath the plants; in the after photo, that debris has been removed and the landscaped area looks calmer and more cared for.

Even lightweight campus litter matters. Paper and cardboard can trap moisture, smother low plants, or break into soggy fragments that are harder to pick up later. Food wrappers and plastic bags can also blow from landscaping into walkways or storm drains, especially in a busy city like Los Angeles.

This was a quick cleanup on a dry day, but it made a real difference for a shared campus space. Cleaner neighborhood habits often start this small: one volunteer, one overlooked corner, and one small spot at a time.

🌟 Cleaned & documented by community volunteer Omar