Morehouse Graduate Cam Kirk is turning a public sanitation issue into a sustainability initiative in Atlanta. His awareness of the lack of trash cans and recycling bins around Georgia’s capital encouraged him to clean up.
As a resident of the southern hotspot’s downtown area, Kirk told 11 Alive News that he noticed trash piling onto the streets with no citywide push to dispose of it correctly,
“If you are walking to work everyday, stepping over trash when you get to work. You’re kind of like why does my neighborhood have to look like this.”
Tired of the inaction, Kirk founded Spin the Block in 2019, an communal organization dedicated to cleaning up the streets of Atlanta from unnecessary litter while also inspiring creatives.
The initiative brings together volunteers to collect trash across Atlanta to recycle or transport to the correct sanitation facilities. However, in this quest to “spin” the block, creatives also can do a photo walk of the beautiful scenery around the areas that they beautify in the midst of cleaning up.
This ongoing project occurs on a monthly or quarterly basis in the hopes of not only connecting creatives for a good cause, but to dismantle sustainability gaps, primarily due to inaccessibility and general unawareness. Kirk believes that pinpointing where recycling centers are to more Atlanta residents is a step in the right direction to increase sustainability and clean up local streets.
“We honestly just thought about it like, well the reason why we don’t recycle is because we don’t have an option and the reason why there is a lot of litter is because we don’t have enough trash cans,” said the Morehouse alum.
Kirk’s efforts have led to the creation of the Cam Kirk Foundation, which has partnered with Sprite and Coca-Cola to install more trash cans and recycling bins across his downtown neighborhood. The foundation also allocated $25,000 to the growing cause.
Those living in Atlanta can join Spin the Block in its ongoing clean up sessions, with most volunteers meeting at Cam Kirk Studios.