PPE and Plastic Waste Are on the Rise. But Cleanup Crews Are Here to Save Us. As COVID-19 wears on, the simple act of picking up trash is more impactful than you might think. By Gabriel Granillo 2/9/2021 at 5:00am A SOLVE worker at a downtown Portland cleanup on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. More than 300 folks volunteered that day to pick up 4,310 pounds of litter and approximately 48,800 cigarette butts from around Portland. Picking up trash isnât all that hard to do. The problem is, itâs even easier not to do itâto rely on the janitorial instinct of someone who cares. Or perhaps you think your tax dollars will pay for someone,