FINDING SOLUTIONS: Local activists clean up Aiken streets
AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - It’s one thing to notice a problem, but it’s another thing to do something about it.
A couple of longtime friends have been walking together in Aiken for years, and on their walks, they also make the community a little cleaner.
But we found they’re finding solutions to more than just a trash problem.
Cathy Cobb and A.C. Daniel may not look like they have a lot in common.
45 years separate them, but there’s a lot more that connects them.
MORE FROM NEWS 12:
- Marshal’s Office offers alternative to cash fines
- New clinic combines specialties to lower maternal mortality rates in Augusta
- After SIDS deaths spike, News 12 teams up to launch community crib program
- Glasses allow hearing impaired to subtitle conversations
“It’s nice to unload on someone and no judgment, and it’ll never go anywhere,” said Cobb.
An artist and a writer are both thinkers and feelers.
“I’ve written 5 books on chemistry. A.C. and I have talked about this, you tell people you’re a writer they go ‘Oh that’s nice’, when you tell people you’re an artist they go ‘Oh, that’s nice,’” said Cobb.
They walk together, talk together, and help the environment while they’re at it.
“We usually fill up both bags every week,” she said.
They started picking up trash as they spotted it on their walks.
Over the years, they’ve picked up hundreds of pounds of garbage from Aiken’s streets.
Daniel said: “You see a problem and you do stuff.”
They’ve talked through the good times and walked through the bad times.
Cobb said: “I recently got my story on the cover, that’s the one I sent you for the first time ever. So cool.”
“We don’t talk much about politics that’s for sure,” said Cobb.
And they may be on to something more. A recent study from the CDC points to loneliness as a significant threat to your physical and mental health.
Daniel said: “This is so good for me.”
Cobb said: “Kind of like therapy though, but it’s mutual therapy, I guess.”
They’re walking and talking trash.
They never know what they’ll find, but they do know it’s a simple solution for a lot of complicated problems.
They’ve also heard a lot of people saying, “I’d love to you guys.”
They say it’s simple. Just grab a trash bag and a friend.
News 12 would love to see if this idea takes off, so if you give it a try, snap a pic and tag us in it on social media with the hashtag #WALKINGTALKINGTRASH.
Copyright 2023 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
