Updated October 23, 2025 at 5:01 AM AST
Mark Remy had a bone to pick with the City of Portland.
"Almost three years ago now, I was noticing more and more litter," he said.
Remy is a writer and editor who lives in Portland, Ore. with his wife and kids.
"I told my wife one day, 'I am so fed up with this litter. I'm going to go downtown and collect a bag full of it and leave it on the steps of city hall.'"
At that point in his life, Remy didn't have much experience doing volunteer work. So, when his wife suggested that he channel his frustration into community service, he was intrigued.
"I did some Googling and that's how I found SOLVE."
SOLVE, an approximate acronym for "stop Oregon litter and vandalism," is a non-profit that began in 1969, dedicated to cleaning up litter and things like graffiti, broken windows and damage to public property across the state and in neighboring Washington.
"They give you a trash grabber and some bags and a pair of gloves, and they send you out into the neighborhood and you come back later with your bags full of trash."
Remy joined a clean-up organized by the group three years ago and has been involved ever since. And while Remy says the work itself is "not very glamorous, not very sexy," he finds it gratifying.
"Today, especially more and more, the average person can feel really overwhelmed, really hopeless," he says. "Well, here's something you can do."
He says that even actions as small as picking up trash can have a big impact.
"You pick up trash. And by the time you're done, that little corner of the world is a little bit nicer than it was before you got there. And what a great feeling."
Remy now runs SOLVE events as a volunteer leader. And when he thanks volunteers for participating, he likes to remind them: "No one can do everything, but everyone can do something."
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