The Great Global Cleanup
A Reading Cleanup Topped Off with an Actual Award
April 7, 2025
Michael Karapetitan, Manager GREAT GLOBAL CLEANUP
Climate Education Takes Center Stage at NSTA 2025!
Michael hard at work in the Sargassum on the Hollywood Florida Beach
Pal Martensson (Zero Waste International Alliance), Teresa Bradley (Race to Zero Waste) and Michael Karapetian holding The Great Global Cleanup banner
Sunday March 30th, 2025 (International Day of Zero Waste)
Day 1: Hollywood, Florida Boardwalk
Weather: Sunny with a strong wind coming off the ocean
Mood: Absolutely stoked for the week ahead
The week kicked off with a beach cleanup on the boardwalk in Hollywood, Florida—and man, I loved it. Not only are cleanups one of my favorite things to do, but being back on the beaches in Florida felt like a breath of fresh air. The sea salt spraying from the ocean, the wind, the sand, the sun beating down on my skin— extremely refreshing. It had been a while since I got to travel for this job, and being in a new place (albeit with the same trash) brought a reminder of why I love leading the Great Global Cleanup.
Familiar faces and new ones alike arrived in boardshorts, sundresses, and bathing suits. Amidst handshakes and hugs, we gathered materials and got to work picking up trash. I had attended the Zero Waste Forum hosted by Race to Zero Waste, last year in San Francisco and I was excited to be back in action with these activists.
The beaches on Florida’s east coast are often covered in sargassum—this algae that washes ashore in tangled heaps. The worst part? Plastic of every size ends up caught in it. We had to dig through seaweed, pulling out straws, wrappers, and microplastics, piece by piece.
Up and down the beach we walked, catching up and collecting trash, stopping now and then to answer questions from curious beachgoers.
At the beginning of the cleanup, Samantha Romanick—a microplastics scientist from the University of Rochester—joined us. She asked me to collect a water sample for her to analyze during the conference to find microplastics. She already had sand samples and vials of microplastic “goo” to show passersby. So I walked into the ocean, wave after wave crashing into me on a windy day, to collect a sample from chest-deep water to avoid getting sand in it.
After the cleanup ended, one of the event organizers, Richard Ramcharitar—the founder of Broward Clean Air—offered us a ride. He started the organization because his family developed severe health issues, including asthma and COPD, from living near an incinerator in Broward County. He drove us to a Trinidadian restaurant that had amazing food—but one issue: we were at a zero waste conference, and the restaurant only had takeout containers.
I’ll be honest, I was ready to cave. I was hungry, and the smell was unbelievable. But then Mike Ewall, founder of Energy Justice Network (an absolute badass—he used to chain himself to incinerators to protest back in the day), stood up and said, “Either we leave or they get us real plates.” And you know what? They had real plates—in the back. And they brought them out.
Of course, they only had plastic silverware, so we ended up eating with our hands. But I learned something—the owner told us that the real way to eat it is with roti anyway – not cutlery. So we happily tore off the soft chickpea-stuffed bread and scoop up the curry. And it was phenomenal. I ate the whole thing, and we didn’t create any waste.
Microplastic samples being showcased by Samantha Romanick, PhD.
Pal Martensson and Rodrigo Sabatini (Instituto Lixo Zero Brasil) lead the way enjoying curry!
Monday March 31th, 2025 (International Day of Zero Waste)
Day 2: University of Miami Campus
Weather: Beautiful Sunny Floridian Weather
Mood: Intrigued
Before the conference officially kicked off, we joined a sustainability tour scheduled at the University of Miami. After carpooling down to campus, we met with their sustainability team, who led us on a tour—and, man, this campus is beautiful.
One of the main highlights is the dining hall. Not only is the food solid, ie. great quality (always a win), but the operation itself was seriously impressive. They compost food scraps, provide reusable takeout containers for students, and have a food waste dehydrator that spins and heat scraps until they are dry – meaning they are 80% less in volume. That one machine alone saved them huge amounts of money, since the university is charged for trash by weight.
But I also noticed where they hit walls—places where regulations or contracts got in the way of going fully zero waste. For example, they have full control over dining hall practices, but not over the restaurants on campus. Those are run by a contracted food service company, and the university can’t control the types of containers they use. Even in the dining hall, there are odd constraints—like apples being wrapped in plastic due to health code. While I understand the health code aspect, I don’t know if I’d rather have an apple that a ton of people had touched, or an apple potentially contaminated with microplastics.
It reminded me that systems change often needs real policy shifts too and accountability from all stakeholders.. Still, it was refreshing to see a school doing so much, and doing it well.
Tuesday, April 1st, 2025 – The Conference Begins
Day 3: Anne Kolb Nature Center, Hollywood, Florida
Weather: Sunny with a strong wind coming off the ocean
Mood: Absolutely stoked for the week ahead
The Zero Waste Forum kicked off at the Anne Kolb Nature Center and from the moment I walked in, the energy was high—people buzzing with conversation, the smell of coffee in the air, and a beautiful zero waste breakfast spread laid out: fresh-cut fruit, snacks, and of course, no single-use containers. Compost bins were set up everywhere.
This first day focused on local—Florida’s unique environmental challenges and the organizations on the ground doing the work. Local speakers shared their struggles and triumphs, grounding the forum in a sense of urgency and pride.
Mike Ewall was one of crowd favorites on this day. He spoke about incinerators—an issue deeply relevant in Florida, which has one of the highest numbers of waste incineration facilities in the country. For the zero waste movement, incineration is absolutely unacceptable. It produces toxic ash, pollutes the air, and is often labeled as “waste to energy,” even though the energy yield is minimal and the health risks are enormous.
Mike dropped a fact that stuck with me: when waste is incinerated, 30% becomes ash that still has to be landfilled, but the other 70% goes into the air—potentially into our lungs. “Would you rather have large, stinky landfills—or slightly smaller landfills that give you cancer?” he asked. He’s made it his mission to shut down the remaining 62 incinerators in the U.S.
The day wrapped up with a reception at a local restaurant, where we all swapped contact information—no business cards, of course, this was zero waste after all. We hung out late into the evening, connecting over shared goals and good food. Even after a long day, I made it back to my room and ran through my presentation one more time. I’d be the keynote speaker tomorrow.
Michael Karapetian and the first day of the zero waste forum
Group photo outside of the Anne Kolb Nature Center
Wednesday, April 2st, 2025 – Speaking Day
Day 3: Anne Kolb Nature Center, Hollywood, Florida
Weather: Sunny with a strong wind coming off the ocean
Mood: Locked In
I woke up feeling nervous, but I knew I had to lock in. But something stuck with me from the day before—a talk by Andy Weins on the power of words. He said nervousness is a baseline emotion, and it’s all about how you frame it. Left unchecked, it turns into anxiety. But if you lean into it? It can turn into excitement. So I reframed.
I hyped myself up with some music (A Day To Remember usually does the trick), and by the time I arrived at the venue, I was ready. Grabbed some zero waste breakfast (fruit, coffee, the usual suspects—no trash), and then walked up to the front to open the second day of the conference.
This day of the forum was focused on international speakers, and I kicked it off with passion—talking about the global cleanup movement, the incredible work our partners do across the world, and how we at EARTHDAY.ORG work to support and give them the resources they need to create change in their community.
I told myself before I started my presentation: Alright, Michael—own the stage. Every inch of it.
I’ve always aimed to be a dynamic speaker, someone who moves, connects, commands attention. A mentor once told me, “Make sure you know your audience before you give a speech.” I had that down. But what didn’t they say? Know your physical environment too. And things got… interesting.
Firstly, the mic was wired to the side of the stage. I got so into it, I ran out of slack, tangled myself up, and had to do a few jump-spins just to break free.
Second, there was a Zoom audience watching live, but I kept walking out of frame. Every few minutes, one of the organizers would motion for me to step back into view. And of course, thirdly, I didn’t realize the projector was on the ground in front of the stage. I kept walking in front of it—flashbanging myself and blocking my own slides.
Despite all of that, I really do think I nailed it. My message I wanted to get across was this: Local cleanup and zero waste organizations are the cornerstone of the environmental movement in their communities. They have the power and agency to create the change they want to see in their communities. Regardless of what’s happening at the federal or international level, local groups are uniquely positioned to bring together governments, volunteers, and businesses to build solutions that protect their communities and the environment.
This message was wrapped up in our theme for 2025, Our Power, Our Planet which focuses on the power that people have when they organize. I ended by reflecting on what I’ve learned from studying the first Earth Day, 55 years ago: This movement has never waited for someone else to save the planet. And it sure as hell isn’t going to start now. The rest of the day was packed with international speakers sharing insights on managing global networks, mobilizing communities, and adapting to local challenges. I took notes diligently.
And then I was presented with the 2025 Emerging Leader Award for my work on the Great Global Cleanup. A massive honor. The award itself was a beautiful bamboo plaque—fitting, given the theme of the forum. That night, a group of us grabbed dinner, then headed back to a shared rental where several of the other speakers were staying. We spent the rest of the night (and the next morning) catching up, swapping ideas, and talking through the next big projects on the horizon—and how EARTHDAY.ORG might collaborate with their work going forward.
Michael Karapetian opening up the conference as Keynote Speaker
Amanda DiPerna and Michael receiving 2025 Emerging Leader Awards
The 2025 Emerging Leader Award Bamboo Plaque
April 3rd, 2025 – TRUE Zero Waste Workshop
Day 4: Anne Kolb Nature Center, Hollywood, Florida
Weather: Sunny with a strong wind coming off the ocean
Mood: Exhausted, but grateful
Perhaps it wasn’t the smartest decision to stay out “networking” into the early hours of the morning—but it’s only once in a while that you find yourself surrounded by this many people who are just as passionate about fighting waste.. It was energizing, inspiring, and honestly validating. These are the people who get it—the wins, the roadblocks, the nuance of what we do at EARTHDAY.ORG.
Running on only a few hours of sleep, I still managed to get back to the nature center for the TRUE Zero Waste Workshop to finish the week strong. The breakfast had become a self-fulfilling prophecy—not a single drop of coffee was left.
What I walked away with from the workshop—and honestly, from the entire conference—was this: Zero waste is not just about individual choices. That’s important, yes—but it’s only the tip of the iceberg. It is at its core, about rethinking systems. It’s about building communities, businesses, and mindsets that make full use of every resource. When waste goes into a landfill—or worse, an incinerator—it’s a missed opportunity for the economy and the environment.
The conference closed with hugs, goodbyes, and lots of “see you next year”s. It was an honor to represent the Great Global Cleanup and EARTHDAY.ORG and I’m walking away with so many lessons, ideas, and stories from every speaker I met—and I can’t wait to bring all of it back to the work I do, and the partners I work with around the world.
It felt phenomenal to be back on the road again—and I couldn’t have imagined a better way to kick off Earth Month.
If you’re looking for a meaningful way to celebrate Earth Day, joining Earth Action Day by participating in a local cleanup is a great way to mobilize. Join us for The Great Global Cleanup and help us work toward a waste-free world while fostering a supportive, green community. To find a cleanup near you, check out our Global Cleanup Map and get involved!
