Debbie Miller has been picking up thousands of pieces of trash over the past two years, and on Thursday, she reached a major milestone: 1 million pieces of litter.
Miller first spoke to News 5 in April of 2023. She told us she began picking up litter after one of her dogs was hurt by a piece of broken glass on one of their walks.
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"I wanted to clean up the trash so that my dogs would have a safe place to walk. But I loved it so much. I just kept cleaning the trash until I cleaned 74 Streets of Firestone Park," said Miller at that time.
Two months after that, she reached her goal of 100,000 pieces.
Then, she mentioned the possibility of 1 million pieces after achieving the milestone.
In March of 2024, we caught up with Debbie as she reached a goal of 500,000 litters of trash.
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"I'm keeping a lot of dogs, children, and grown-ups safe. People ride their bikes on the street, and there's broken glass and nails. So, it's important that we all do our part," said Miller.
A little over a year later, Miller achieved her goal of picking up 1 million pieces of trash.
"I count every piece as I pick it up, it actually works well because it takes my mind off of the stuff I'm picking up, and it makes it seem worth it," Miller said.
Miller has a blog that talks about all of the different things she has picked up, including needles, screws, and even knives and guns.
Others in the community have been inspired by Miller, which is something she hopes for.
“If one person can do what I've done, anyone could do it,” Miller said.
