Trash pick-up initiative reveals illegal dumping problem

(MILAN, Ind.) – What do mattresses, TV’s and 20 vapes all have in common?

They were among the items collected during a grassroots trash pick-up in the Milan area this past weekend. 

29-year-old Dani Jonas is a Batesville graduate who spent several years living in Los Angeles as well as Colorado. 

She and her husband decided to move back to Southeast Indiana because of her love of this area and the community. 

“We have such beautiful land in this area and my goal is to be a steward of the earth. I think us Christians have a fundamental value to be conscientious of the land we have,” Jonas told The 812. 

She recently launched an initiative called ‘Trash Bash’ where her family and friends meet a few times a year to pick up trash along the road. 

Jonas says Trash Bash has been an eye-opening experience into illegal dumping.

“This isn’t just items like beer cans or trash that fell out of a dump truck. People are making the decision to use this area as a dumping ground,” she said. 

Trash Bash took place on a 6-mile stretch of North Hogan Road, Hogan Hill Road and Schwipps Road on Saturday.

Here are some of the items collected during just a 4-hour pickup:

• 4 Mattresses

• 2 Box Springs

• 20 Vapes 

• 2 Tv’s 

• 30 bags of aluminum 

• 25 tires

• 3 rolls of carpet

• 1 Weedeater 

• Shoes 

• Old pieces of guardrail 

• Contraceptives

• A bag of children’s toys 

• Rugs 

“We filled up an entire dumpster with trash, and that didn’t include any of the aluminum because we recycled it,” Jonas explained. 

Jonas says she plans to hold another Trash Bash in the fall in the Milan area. 

She is sharing her story with the hope that it reminds people to not use Southeast Indiana as a dumping ground. 

Here are some photos from the Trash Bash on Saturday: