Not trash picking, but treasure hunting with TrashUre Hunt

Plastic caps, but no shells

It all started on a surfing vacation in Costa Rica. “My little son played on the beach all day and collected all the plastic caps from bottles instead of shells,” Ralph says. It was the first time Ralph was confronted with litter, some of which is washed up by the sea. "After 3 months in Costa Rica, we had a very large bag full of caps. We decided to make a mosaic of it and capture it with a camera. Then, of course, we cleaned it up again." Once back in The Hague, Ralph noticed that the beaches here were very polluted. Ralph saw it as a challenge: what can 1 person do in 10 years to improve this? Thus was born the idea of TrashUre Hunt.

Cleaning the beach for 12 years

Together with volunteers, businesses, agencies, and enthusiastic residents, TrashUre Hunt has been cleaning the beach for 12 years. Some of the trash on the beach is washed up but much of it is also simply left behind by the more than 15 million annual beachgoers. TrashUre Hunt weighs and sorts all the trash. Therefore, they know exactly what is thrown away the most. “The beach and trash are a reflection of society,” Ralph says. "When deposits came on plastic bottles we suddenly found 95 percent fewer bottles on the beach. And when there was a deposit on cans we found 90 percent less of those too. There is also less construction waste." Meanwhile, less and less litter is found on the beach. Ralph notes that there is a big change in human behavior: "The younger generation is much more aware of the problem. Nowadays, more people also dare to just pick up trash from the beach and walk to the nearest trash can."

"Many people still think that cigarette filters are made of cotton. But the filters are plastic and are full of a lot of toxins. If you throw that on the street, it all ends up in the water"

Treasures that don't belong in nature

It's disturbing how much litter you find if you look closely. But Ralph sees litter as raw materials that can be reused again. TrashUre Hunt makes art with it. Last year, for example, the sustainable Hague art route of found treasures opened. The sustainable route goes along 12 beach entrances of The Hague beach and has a length of 7.3 km. At each beach entrance there is a different work of art made from found materials. For example, there are works of art made from nails, cans and flip flops.

"Our philosophy is: don't complain but duck! You achieve much more by setting a good example than by complaining about what's going wrong in the world and pointing fingers. That's why the motto of TrashUre Hunt is also: Be a Hero!"

Clean earth, clean mind, clean heart

Ralph strongly believes in his motto: Clean earth, clean mind, clean heart. He is convinced that caring for a clean earth is the same as caring for a tidy home. When our home, the earth, is clean and tidy, it not only makes our brain feel clear, but also makes our heart feel good. According to Ralph, this is the simplest first step to a finer and cozier society. His dream is to spread TrashUre Hunt's projects across the country. "I would like to scale up and expand some of our projects. I'm full of ideas," Ralph said.