Project Pick Up is our global program that is dedicated to assist and aid under-resourced communities across the World
The Trash Punx have partnered with Sabore Ole Oyie, Maasai elder and warrior, of Kenya, to clean up the town of Ewaso Ngiro, outside of Nairobi. Ewaso Ngiro is a small town approximately 60 miles from the famous Maasai Mara National Reserve and is the lifeblood for thousands of people who attend the weekly livestock and produce market where they buy their food. the challenge this town faces is they have no trash service, no trash bins and no means of trash disposal. The trash is thrown on the ground and the town is filthy. Follow along with The Trash Punx as they travel 10,000 miles from the San Francisco Bay Area to Kenya!
April 2026 - Update
Since our last update, Project Pick Up has continued to grow in powerful, community-driven ways—both in Ewaso Ngiro and now in Kibera, Nairobi.
Expanding to Kibera, Nairobi
We are proud to be partnering with an incredible grassroots group in Kibera—one of the largest informal settlements in Africa.
Since late 2025, this team has been leading monthly large-scale cleanups, removing massive amounts of waste from their community. Their work goes far beyond cleanup:
Waterways that once functioned as open sewers—clogged with plastic and waste—are now being cleared and restored
Hundreds of trees have been planted, bringing life back into densely populated spaces
Community members are reclaiming and caring for their environment in visible, lasting ways
And perhaps most powerfully—they are now building desks for school children.
In many classrooms, children have never had a desk of their own. A simple desk creates more than a place to sit—it creates focus, dignity, and a sense of ownership in learning. It gives a child a space that says: you matter, your education matters.
Connecting Communities: Knowledge in Motion
What makes this work even more impactful is the connection between communities.
Issac, the Upcycling Center Manager in Ewaso Ngiro, recently traveled to Kibera to learn directly from this team—bringing those skills back home. He is now working to replicate desk-building at the Upcycling Center, turning harder-to-recycle plastics into durable sheets used to create school desks.
This is circular innovation at its best: Local solutions, shared knowledge, and communities learning from each other.
Innovation at the Upcycling Center
In Ewaso Ngiro, the Upcycling Center continues to evolve.
Recycled plastic fence posts are in active development
The team is testing designs to ensure they meet real community needs
They must be strong, practical, and effective for managing livestock and protecting land
A recent government shift restricting the use of cedar for fence posts has created an urgent need for alternatives—making this work even more critical
Beyond design, community education will be key
Traditional materials and practices run deep
Adoption of new solutions requires trust, understanding, and demonstrated success
At the same time, the team continues to experiment with new products, constantly asking:
How can we remove more plastic from the environment and turn it into something useful for the community?
What This Means
Project PickUp is a growing network of locally led solutions.
From clearing waterways in Kibera…
to building desks that support education…
to engineering alternatives that protect forests and wildlife…
This work is restoring balance, creating opportunity, and building solutions that come from within the community itself.
Giving Plastic a Second Life – And a Community a Cleaner Future
By purchasing these products, you’re helping fund a community-driven recycling center that transforms plastic waste into valuable goods. This initiative not only cleans the environment but also creates jobs and inspires a culture of sustainability.
2023 Ewaso Ngiro, Kenya Highlights:
900 bags of trash in two days
250 participants the day of the first cleaning
31,500 pounds of trash collected
Installation of 26 permanent trash cans
Meeting with Chief Officer Environment, Energy, Water, Natural Resources & Climate Change for the County Government of Narok
Sabore Ole Oyie will continue leading the efforts to get more trash cans made and partnering with the local community and government
We have connected with Ewaso NGiro High School and have found our trash steward Sharon (who dreams to be a journalist) to take the lead on doing more trash events
We connected with WildlifeDirect, a Nairobi based conservation NGO and are looking at future programs together
The Trash Punx and Sabore have developed a plan to clean up the town and protect the people, environment and animals
The plan includes:
Creating a high school stewardship team
Trash pickup incentive programs
Town garbage cans
Dumpsters
Dumpster hauling service to the larger city of Narok for proper disposal
This is an unprecedented opportunity to start a ripple effect of change in this community.
Multiple benefits include:
Changing the way the town manages their trash
Discarded plastics, metals and other types of trash not only degrade the aesthetic beauty of an area, they can leach harmful chemicals into the environment
Health benefits - trash contributes to disease transmission
Resolve safety issues for the livestock and the wild animals which inadvertently eat the plastic and other garbage
Beautification of the town
Resurgence of tourists to the area - the market can be a popular tourist destination, but the filthiness has been a deterrent. It is on the route to the wildlife preserve and would be a financial incentive for the people to keep the town clean as tourism creates resources.
We need your continued support as we continue to build!
Please consider supporting this amazing global cause and making a difference not only for the community and wildlife but for our World, one piece of trash at a time!