Miami’s Mangrove Hero: 37,000 Lbs of Trash and Counting

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Stay Tranquilo

Episode: Miami’s Mangrove Hero: 37,000 Lbs of Trash and Counting

Guest: Andrew Otaso

Date: November 26, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode features Andrew Otaso, a Miami native who has dedicated the past eight years to cleaning up Miami’s coastal mangrove ecosystems, personally removing over 37,000 pounds of trash. The conversation delves into Andrew's journey—how he went from public policy and academia to environmental activism—and uncovers his motivations, experiences, and the broader impact of his work. The episode also explores the problems facing Miami’s mangroves, the systemic sources of pollution, and the movement building around grassroots cleanup efforts.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introducing Andrew Otaso and His Story

• Origin & Background:
  • Born and raised in Miami to Cuban parents.
  • Diverse experiences: Attended West Point, University of Miami (BA/MA), academic stints in Buenos Aires and Brazil, work at the State Department, assistant to former Mexican President Felipe Calderón at Harvard, research/publishing at HBS, public policy advocacy in D.C.
  • Returned to Miami to run a PR agency specializing in environmental nonprofit work.
  • Author of "The Miami Creation Myth"; winner of International Latino Book Award.
  • "I've picked up 37,200 pounds of trash from South Florida's coastal ecosystem. So mostly the mangroves." (04:12, Andrew)

2. Andrew’s Inspiration and Starting the Cleanup Mission

• Fell in love with Miami’s wild mangrove areas as a child—places of “peace” and “solitude.”
• "As I grew up and became an adult… instead of finding that sense of peace, I'd get really upset, because it's not an exaggeration to say that I couldn't take a step anywhere without stepping on a piece of plastic." (06:44, Andrew)
• After no response from officials or the press, decided to act himself:
  • Bought a GoPro and tripod, began documenting each cleanup day.
  • “…I've been at it ever since. I'm the most stubborn person you've ever met.” (08:17, Andrew)

3. Harnessing Public Attention for Education

• Social media documentation wasn't just about recognition, but a “public relations campaign” for the environment.
• “That's what gets people's attention so that I can then use it as an opportunity to educate them… about what the sources of this trash are and what they can do about it and why they should care.” (05:18, Andrew)

4. Eye-Opening Marathon Advocacy

• In 2019, Andrew built a 35-pound trash bag from mangrove waste and walked the entire Miami Marathon with it—over 26 miles—raising money for Miami Waterkeeper.
• “I built a 35 pound trash bag with my friend and… walked the Miami Marathon with it. All 26.2 miles.” (11:32, Andrew)
• The next year, organized a team with a 135-pound trash cart, raising $30,000. The original bag now resides in the History Miami Museum.
• “That’s the point, right? You do these drastic, dramatic things to get the attention so that then you can educate people.” (13:08, Andrew)

5. The Hidden Mangrove Problem

• Public beach trash is routinely collected for tourism, but mangroves “are very much out of sight, out of mind. Nobody goes in the mangroves… Because it's dangerous and there are mosquitoes.” (10:50, Andrew)
• Trash in mangroves primarily originates from the city:
  • “People litter on the side of the road… rain comes… goes directly into the street gutters… right into the bay and right into the mangroves.” (14:13, Andrew)
• Misconception: “People are not dumping millions of water bottles. Like, this is coming directly from the city.” (14:45, Andrew)

6. Strange (and Sometimes Disturbing) Mangrove Finds

• Found everything from virtual reality headsets, microwaves, mattresses, underwear, stoves, tires—“picture anything that human beings make. I have found it.” (18:13, Andrew)
• Wildest find: "The craziest thing I have ever found in the mangroves is a bank robber." (20:16, Andrew)
  • Details an elaborate story involving a man building an illegal platform in the mangroves, robbing a bank by canoe, and evading the police until a SWAT team was dispatched. (21:57–24:03)
• Other disturbing discoveries include sites associated with illegal activities and even reports of violent crime nearby.

7. Why Mangroves Matter

• Red mangroves' sweeping roots stabilize coastlines, absorb storm surges, and protect infrastructure.
• “Basically 80% of the reef fish offshore… spend their juvenile stages within the mangrove roots… They also serve as a rookery for local birds…” (25:30–27:46, Andrew)
• The collapse of the mangroves would devastate Miami’s ecology and ecotourism.

8. Microplastics & Environmental Harm

• Plastics break down, creating microplastics ingested by animals at every tier, from crabs and fish to manatees and whales.
• “The largest oceanic predators have the highest concentration of plastics in their bodies… manatees… whales… swallow them and they can't digest plastic, so it stays in their stomachs and they feel full and they literally starve to death.” (27:46–29:46, Andrew)
• Fishing gear pollution is rampant; discarded lines/netting decapitate birds, entangle marine life.

9. Systemic Solutions & The Need for Policy Change

• The trash problem is a “stream”: Manufacturers (upstream) → Consumers/Distributors → Cleaners/Volunteers (downstream).
• “We need to shift the system. We need to change the way that we consume plastic.” (31:45, Andrew)
• Cultural change matters (“Leave no trace” as cultural norm in other areas), but legislation is essential.
• “The state of Florida has a preemption law… any city or county, they pass an ordinance… the state of Florida will come in and go ‘nope,’ and cancel it.” (33:29–34:01, Andrew)
• Advocates for local solutions, trash traps, “smart grates,” and even whimsical answers like “Señor Trash Wheel”—a large-scale conveyor-belt trash collector modeled after Baltimore’s success. (36:25, Andrew)

10. Movement-Building, Community Action, and Hope

• Andrew champions “modeling behavior”: sharing and celebrating others who pick up trash, encouraging it as daily practice.
  • “If you tag me on Instagram with you picking up trash, I will share it.” (15:45, Andrew)
• Miami’s volunteer cleanup community has grown immensely in the past decade: groups like Filabag, Clean this Beach Up, Mangrove Sasquatch; events aggregated at VolunteerCleanup.org. (38:48–39:56, Andrew)
• “I’m going to keep doing this until my arms and legs fall off… there’s no point where I’m like, all right, I’m done… until I literally die, I’m going to keep doing this.” (39:55, Andrew)
• Upcoming event: Miami’s Trashiest Run —a 5K + trash-collecting competition, March (in partnership with Debris Free Oceans and local agencies). (44:21, Andrew)

11. Collective Action & Shared Responsibility

• “The little acts that we can all do… multiply as a collective, as a community.” (42:26, Host)
• “This is our home… and whatever you believe is kind of irrelevant at that, because if you don’t have a home, then none of this even matters.” (37:47, Host)
• This is a unifier across political and social divides—“Nobody wants more trash in the ocean.” (37:29, Andrew)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Miami roots & resume:
  "I picked up all these skills everywhere, and I kept coming back. Can I curse on this podcast? Of course. Amazing. And I had all these skills, and I came back to Miami, and people were like, cool. That's cool you did that. But can you sell real estate? And I'm like, no. They're like, all right, get the fuck out of here." (03:40, Andrew)

• On the stubbornness required:
  "I'm the most stubborn person you've ever met. So I've been at it ever since." (08:17, Andrew)

• On marathon advocacy:
  "…I built a 35 pound trash bag…walked the Miami Marathon with it. All 26.2 miles… It took me nine hours and 50 minutes to do it, and it was horrendous. But when I was done, I sat in the bathtub and ate an entire large pizza by myself." (11:32–12:01, Andrew)

• On ecosystem impact:
  "Without the mangroves, we literally don't have an ecotourism sector in this city. Wow." (27:46, Andrew)

• On everyone’s role:
  "Trust me, it’s so much easier to pick up trash on the sidewalk than it is in the mangroves. Because that trash on the sidewalk will wind up in the mangroves." (14:12, Andrew)

• On dangerous mangrove adventures:
  "The craziest thing I have ever found in the mangroves is a bank robber… [story ensues]." (20:16–24:03, Andrew)

• On hope for change:
  "I've seen people get more aware of the scale and the scope of this problem, so that's a good thing… I'm going to keep talking to whoever will have me… And, you know, trying to reach a wider audience lately…" (38:41–40:31, Andrew)

• On legacy and community:
  "I'm going to keep doing this until my arms and legs fall off… until I literally die, I'm going to keep doing this." (39:55, Andrew)

• On single-use plastic culture:
  "There were other systems in place… your milkman used to come by… and you'd leave the ones that you used outside. And that was a system that was reusable… you didn't need to consume all this, all this single use plastic." (32:33, Andrew)

• On the politics of cleanups:
  "This is not polarized. Like, it doesn't matter where you are… nobody wants more trash in the ocean." (37:01–37:29, Andrew)

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Important Timestamps & Segments

• Andrew’s background / resume: 02:05–04:12
• Introduction to 37,000lb cleanup journey: 04:12–06:01
• Inspiration, origins, and documentation: 06:34–08:28
• Mangrove v. Beach trash, marathon stunts: 10:28–12:23
• Trash sources: city runoff, not just dumping: 14:13–14:58
• Wildest finds: from microwaves to a bank robber: 17:56–24:03
• Importance of mangroves/ecosystem impact: 25:05–29:46
• Microplastics and wildlife harm: 27:46–31:19
• Systemic solutions & legislative hurdles: 31:45–36:52
• Movement-building, group cleanups, call to action: 38:48–44:21
• Upcoming community event: 44:21–44:43

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Action Steps & Resources Mentioned

• Volunteer for cleanups:
  • VolunteerCleanup.org
• Follow & participate:
  • Tag Andrew on Instagram when picking up trash for a repost / encouragement.
• Join events:
  • Miami’s Trashiest Run (Details to be released in spring; a 5K + competitive trash-collecting event.)
• Connect with local groups:
  • Filabag, Clean This Beach Up, Mangrove Sasquatch, Debris Free Oceans (for event collaborations)
• Support regulatory change:
  • Understand Florida’s preemption law and advocate for local policymaking power on waste management.

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Tone and Takeaways

The conversation is relaxed, candid, and occasionally irreverent—typical of Stay Tranquilo’s vibe—with a strong sense of hope and action. Andrew’s unwavering stubbornness and humor (“There’s no money in trash!”) shine through, counterbalancing the gravity of pollution’s impact with memorable stories and practical ideas for community involvement. Listeners are left inspired to act, with actionable avenues for participation and a clear sense that every effort, big or small, matters to the ecosystem and future of Miami.

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Transcript

[Host]

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[Andrew Otaso]

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[Host]

Good morning. I Buenas dias. Welcome back to another episode of Cafecito y Croquetas brought to you by State Tranquilo and H and Co. Today we're joined with Andrew Otaso, who ironically enough was one of our segments on a previous episode. So I just want to say thanks so much, Juan, for being here and I'm excited to. To tell your story and, and the work that you're doing.

[Andrew Otaso]

My pleasure. Thank you for inviting me.

[Host]

Absolutely. So for those that, you know, may be tuning into this episode and didn't see one of our previous episodes, Andrew has been doing the God's. God's work. Right. You know, like it. It is incredible what you've been a able to do, you know, taking care of our oceans, removing, you know, so much waste and trash that. That exists that some of us may know. Right. But I don't think we realize how much there is. Right. So for today, I want to definitely, one, be able to tell your story. One, like how you got into all of this. But two, like the inspiration behind your work and what you want to achieve in the long run by doing this. So before anything, tell us a little bit about yourself and where you're from and all that stuff.

[Andrew Otaso]

Okay. Where am I from? I'm from Miami. Easy, easy answer to that question. I was born and raised here. Both my parents are Cuban. Then things get weird. So I graduated from High school, and I went to West Point, the U.S. military Academy. Okay. That was an experience.

[Host]

Absolutely.

[Andrew Otaso]

I lost a bunch of hearing and I broke a shin. And after two years, I came back to Miami. I graduated from the University of Miami with my bachelor's, my master's. I studied in Buenos Aires. I studied in Sao Paulo in Brazil, and then I went to D.C. for the first time, and I worked for the U.S. state Department. Okay. Then I went off to Boston and. And I became the assistant to former Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who had just finished his term of office and started a fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School. I was also a researcher at the Kennedy School. When he went back to Mexico, I went over the Harvard Business School, and I was a research Associate. I wrote 17 different academic publications there. Then I came back to Miami, then went back to D.C. and I was the executive director of an organization called the Cuba Study Group, which is. Which is involved in Cuba policy and supports the Cuban civil society. Did that for three years, came back to Miami again. Then I worked at. The funny thing is, I picked up all these skills everywhere, and I kept coming back. Can I curse on this podcast? Of course. Amazing. And I had all these skills, and I came back to Miami, and people were like, cool. That's cool you did that. But can you sell real estate? And I'm like, no. They're like, all right, get the fuck out of here. So I had to basically reinvent myself, and I started working at public relations agencies. So I worked at a couple different national and international agencies. And then about three years ago, I went off on my own, and I've got my own PR communications agency now, and I work with a lot of environmental nonprofits. So that's my professional side. On my personal side, I wrote a book called the Miami Creation Myth, won an International Latino Book Award. So that's cool.

[Host]

That's awesome.

[Andrew Otaso]

Thank you. And, yeah, more to the point to the podcast, I've picked up 37,200 pounds of trash from South Florida's coastal ecosystem. So mostly the mangroves.

[Host]

That's incredible. That's incredible. I mean, what a. What a lineup of a life.

[Andrew Otaso]

It's been a lot from, you know.

[Host]

From D.C. and, like, living that life, right. To obviously, your life here in Miami. I think it's. It's intriguing, right? We were talking before the pod, right, about, like, the educational kind of component, and I. And I think I could tell you're. You're an advocate for that, right? Like, not only being able to learn yourself, but being able to learn what, you know, and be able to provide for other people to be informed. Right, Exactly. We live in a world in today's age, right. Social media and just so much information at our disposal. But it's like what's real, what's not. Right. And that's progressively only going to be harder and harder to, to realize with AI and, and all these things which are great tools, but they come at a cost of, of misinformation. Right, right. So the more we can be informed, I think that, you know, the more powerful we can be.

[Andrew Otaso]

You bring up a great point. So, you know, the reason I'm on this podcast is because, you know, I posted on. So it's been eight years of this. Right. So I, I, I documented every single day. It's been 192 days that I've gone out into the mangroves. And every single day I documented, I documented how many pounds of trash I picked up. And then I posted that on social media. But that was really just like the very beginning. That's what gets people's attention so that I can then use it as an opportunity to educate them. Right. About what the sources of this trash are and what they can do about it and why they should care. And that's really what I've been doing. That's what this has turned into. It's been an eight year long public relation campaign. Yeah.

[Host]

That's incredible. And the fact that you had that vision going into it showcases like, hey, I wasn't just doing this to want to take care of our oceans, even though that's a huge priority in all of this, but it's also letting people know, like, we gotta, you know, what you're doing is not helping the cause. And how can we help the cause, you know, moving forward?

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah.

[Host]

So tell me a little bit about. Right. Like you said you started eight years ago. Right. What was the inspiration to wanting to do this? I know you talk about education, but you know, why say, hey, I'm going to go pick up trash and why am I going to document this process?

[Andrew Otaso]

Well, it started because when I was a teenager in my, well, first it started because I'm a recklessly curious person.

[Host]

So I get, so I get in.

[Andrew Otaso]

A lot of trouble and I get injured a lot, but I'm the kind of person that needs to fill in all the white spaces in the maps. And this was even when I was a teenager. And when I was a teenager growing up here in Miami, I would, my parents would take me to Key Biscayne and I would just you know, the beach is nice, whatever, but I'd always wander up to, like, Cranin park. And from there, like, you keep going north, and you get to Bearcat Preserve, which is just wild. It's just like a mangrove swamp. And it looks, like, really intimidating, but I'm like, I want to go in there. So, like, I would go in there and get eaten alive by mosquitoes, and I'd get cut up and all sorts of territories, terrible things. I had no idea what I was doing. But eventually, like, this is a place that it's gorgeous, it's beautiful, It's. It's globally unique. There's nothing like it. So I fell in love with it. And I'd go back to this place, trying to seek that sense of peace, right? And solitude and just quiet. And then as I grew up and became an adult, and I'd go back to these areas, instead of finding that sense of peace, I'd get really upset, because it's not an exaggeration to say that I couldn't take a step anywhere without stepping on a piece of plastic. It looked like a landfill that had accumulate accumulated ever since the 1940s, essentially. And then eight years ago, I tried reaching out to local newspapers and to my commissioner and to the mayor and being like, hey, can we do something about this? But nobody cared. Nobody answered.

[Host]

And.

[Andrew Otaso]

And then I was like, all right, whatever. I guess no one's doing anything, so let me just start picking up trash.

[Host]

Wow.

[Andrew Otaso]

And I bought a GoPro on a whim, and I bought a tripod and just started recording it. And just like, I'm the most stubborn person you've ever met. So I've been at it ever since.

[Host]

That's incredible. And it's funny, right? Cause you said how when you were a kid, it was like, your place of peace, right? And then, you know, years go by, and that piece was gone because of essentially what it turned into, right? Like, this beautiful landscape and everything we. We talk about being here locally or, you know, tourists, right? It's all about the beauty of Miami, right? But that beauty of Miami can't continue to exist if we continue down this path, right? And I think sometimes, like, we see it, right? And it kind of, like, goes right by us, right?

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[Host]

Trash on the beach. And it's like trash on the beach, right? But we don't realize there's trash there, there's trash there, there's trash there. And it's just accumulating and accumulating and accumulating. It's like that snowball effect, right? That one piece turns into two pieces, that two pieces turns into 10 and it's a never ending cycle. Then you have thousands, millions of pieces of trash, you know, just in one little area.

[Andrew Otaso]

And yeah, you bring up.

[Host]

Frustrating, right?

[Andrew Otaso]

You bring up a good point. So like you'll see that trash on the beach, but. But honestly, there are a bunch of groups and even the hotels on Miami beach like have their own crews go out there and pick up trash because the tourists don't want to see that, of course. But when it comes to the mangroves, it's very much out of sight, out of mind. Nobody goes in the mangroves. That's so true. Because it's dangerous and they're mosquitoes. So in 2019, I decided I'm going to take this problem in a very literal sense out of the mangroves and expose as many Miamis as possible to it. And what I did was I built a 35 pound trash bag with my friend and from all composed completely of trash from the mangroves. And walked the Miami Marathon with it.

[Host]

No way.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yep. All 26.2 miles.

[Advertiser 1]

What?

[Andrew Otaso]

Yep.

[Host]

And what year was that?

[Andrew Otaso]

That was 2019.

[Host]

Holy cow.

[Andrew Otaso]

And, yeah, that was awful. And it was a fundraiser for an organization called Miami Waterkeeper. And it took me nine hours and 50 minutes to do it, and it was horrendous. But when I was done, I sat in a tub in the bathtub and ate an entire large pizza by myself.

[Host]

Well deserved.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah. We raised a lot of money for Miami Waterkeeper. And then the next year, I learned from my mistakes and was like, that sucked. Let me rope in some other people to help me. So we pulled this 135 pound trash cartoon the length of the marathon, and together we raised $30,000 for Miami Waterkeeper. Yeah. And now. Now the bags in the history Miami Museum.

[Host]

No.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah.

[Host]

Dude, that's amazing. Holy. I'm, like, genuinely stunned right now. That's. That. That's impressive.

[Andrew Otaso]

I don't recommend it.

[Host]

No, I. Obviously not. But, like. But you talk about, like, you know, an advocate for change, right? And sometimes it's like doing drastic things to get attention.

[Andrew Otaso]

Exactly.

[Host]

Because here you are, you're calling the commissioner, you're calling this person, right? And you're like, hey, man, like, we have a problem here. Is somebody going to do something? And then it's just cricket. So you're like, okay, well, you know what? I'm going to go carry trash around in the Miami Marathon while everyone's, you know, celebrating this amazing thing. We don't realize that there's just trash all over the place that no one's caring about.

[Andrew Otaso]

Right.

[Host]

That's insane. Props to you, man.

[Andrew Otaso]

Thank you.

[Host]

And what. What was kind of like the reaction after the fact? I know you guys raised, you know, a good amount of money, but, like, you know, you're running. People are running the marathon, and they're just seeing this guy.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah, it was wild. It was wild. So the Miami Herald publish a front page story about it. So, like, people found out about it. I didn't think anyone would know. And then, like, I'm like, there at the starting line, like, it's still dark outside. This sucks. And, like, people come up to me and they're, like, taking selfies with me. And, like, the entire way around, everyone was super supportive. People were taking pictures with me. It was really, really cool. Runner's World wrote a piece on me. I was on. I think so. Yeah, it was cool. And that's. That's the point, right? You do these. You do these drastic, dramatic things to get the attention so that then you can educate people. But the thing is, like, I don't want other people. I don't want other people to, like, spend eight years picking up, you know, 18 tons of trash. I want them to think about, oh, there's a piece of trash in that traffic meeting over there. Let me pick that up. It's something I can do in my personal life. And trust me, it's so much easier to pick up trash on the sidewalk than it is in the mangroves.

[Host]

Absolutely.

[Andrew Otaso]

Because that trash on the sidewalk will wind up in the mangroves. What happens is people litter on the side of the road. Rain comes. You know, we live in a subtropical area. It rains that goes directly into the street gutters. There's no filter whatsoever. And it goes right into the bay and right into the mangroves. And people ask me all the time, they're like, how can people be so terrible? How can people go into the mangroves and dump all this trash? My friend, they are not dumping millions of water bottles. Like, this is coming directly from the city.

[Host]

Interesting, right? Because you think, okay, this is just stuff that's maybe in the surrounding areas of the mangroves and just ending up there. But you're saying that, hey, this is actually happening right here in your everyday backyard and then filtering down into the oceans.

[Andrew Otaso]

That's exactly what. Where most of it is coming from.

[Host]

It's funny. So this was like two weeks ago. I was filling up gas right here off Bird and. And Tropical park right there by Trouble park. And there was a guy there with a garbage bag, and he was just going up and down the side of the road, Tropical Park. And he ended up actually making it all the way to the gas station. He was there in the gas station, picking up trash on the ground.

[Andrew Otaso]

Good for that guy.

[Host]

Yeah, yeah. And it. And it remind. When I saw your story, I'm like, it's the irony, because I even. I don't know why. You know, you're there, you're. You're filling up your tank. You're kind of, you know, you're not really, like, paying attention to your surrounding, Right. You're just there filling up. You might get on your phone while you wait, but that guy caught my attention. I'm like, I saw this guy like, 20 minutes ago all the way over there. Now he's here at the gas station, and he's still picking up trash.

[Andrew Otaso]

Amazing.

[Host]

So it's like, imagine if you get a couple people doing things like that.

[Andrew Otaso]

That's literally what I'm trying to do. Like if you, if you tag me on Instagram with you picking up trash, I will share it. I want. I want to model behavior. I want people to see that this is something you should be doing. It should be part of your everyday life. Absolutely.

[Host]

No, I agree. And it would be. My, my. My head's already, like, spinning of. Of ideas. Right.

[Andrew Otaso]

You.

[Host]

You see, like, I've done a couple of, like, these groups where we actually went into the mangroves on kayak and went and started picking up trash. That was with Blue Missions.

[Andrew Otaso]

Okay, cool.

[Host]

Yeah, so we did that with them. And, you know, that always kind of like, sparked one. It sparks, like, a crazy level of awareness of what exists in there. Right. You're talking about Ro Plastic.

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[Host]

We had knives there where they're cutting off the, you know, the ropes off the mangroves. You're picking up, obviously, all the water bottles, but there's just like the most random of the random stuff that. That ends up there, which I know you've had some crazy experiences with random stuff in there. Tell us a little bit about some of the crazy stuff that you found.

[Andrew Otaso]

Okay. Picture anything that human beings make. I have found it. Okay, so like some of the wild. So the most common items are plastic bags, plastic bottles, things like that. But like, you know, I found a virtual reality headset, multiple microwave ovens. I found a whole kitchen stove, like four range stove top with like you pull down to get the oven. Yeah. Found that. Found a 220 pound tractor trailer tire that came up to my chin. That had to then take like roll and push up a freaking hill to get out of the mangroves.

[Host]

You did that by yourself?

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah, it hit, it fell on my head. It took me three times.

[Host]

Plus it's waterlogged too. I can imagine.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I had to scoop it all out. What else? I got multiple vacuum cleane, Many mattresses. So much underwear, Just too much underwear.

[Host]

I saw you found like underwear and a bra was great.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah, just like a week ago. Yeah, people just be throwing off their.

[Host]

So how does that type of stuff like end up there? Right?

[Andrew Otaso]

Like you talk about it like that.

[Host]

Oven, you know, a mattress. Like those things, like that stuff gets floating.

[Andrew Otaso]

No, no, it's not floating in. That does not float. Yeah, that, that's people dumping. That's people going in there and like setting up a little camp for a little bit or like, you know, fuck. And throwing off their clothes and leaving it there. Or this is what often happens. Whenever you have a wild space right next to a road like, like, and it's kind of secluded, People will dump there, right? They'll throw tires, they'll throw construction equipment. They'll throw anything, anything and everything so they don't have to take it to the dump, Right? So like just in North Point park, which I've been cleaning for the last year, and I got £10,200 so far. I picked up 47 tires from this one park. But I haven't told you the craziest thing I found. The craziest thing I have ever found in the mangroves is a bank robber.

[Host]

A what?

[Andrew Otaso]

Strap in. All right. Yeah.

[Host]

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

[Andrew Otaso]

I got a story for you.

[Host]

Oh yeah? I'm hyped for this one.

[Andrew Otaso]

Okay. So I was walking through the manGroves with these two high school students because they'd reached out to me and I.

[Host]

Was like, is that in North Point Park?

[Andrew Otaso]

This was in Bearcut Preserve in Crandon Park.

[Host]

Got you.

[Andrew Otaso]

So like right after you cross the small, you got the big bridge going over to Virginia Key the smaller bridge over to Key Biscayne. If you look to your left, it's all mangroves. That's where I was.

[Host]

Okay.

[Andrew Otaso]

So I was walking to the mangroves with these two high school students, just telling them about the mangroves, explain the ecosystem. And then I hear EDM blasting in the mangroves. I'm like, well, that's freaking weird.

[Host]

And it's like, middle of the day.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah, middle of the day. EDM going, hard drops. And then I'm like, all right, let me stash these two kids away. Put them somewhere where they're not going to be seen. And I, like, make my way over to the sound, and I know the mangroves, and I can go wherever I want without being seen. Lo and behold, there's this freaking dude. Blonde hair, shirtless, freaking white dude, just like. He built himself a little platform out of the mangroves, which is illegal. You're not allowed to chop down the mangroves in the state of Florida. And he had these two big speakers. He had a tent on top of the platform, these two big speakers, and just blasting house into the mangroves. I'm like, huh, that's not normal, right? Okay. So I come back, I grab the two kids, we go back, I leave them in the parking lot, and then I go to the county's, like, building there. And I'm like, hey, this is kind of weird. This guy's out there. This is his pin. This is the exact geolocation. Go get them. They're like, all right, we'll go get him. I check in a couple months later. I'm like, hey, did you get the guy? And they're like, we sent a pair of cops out there, but they couldn't find him. And in my head, I'm like, how? I literally sent you the pin.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Andrew Otaso]

And in my mind, the cops just were scared of the mangroves. They didn't want to go into the mangroves. I'm like, all right, I will literally physically take one of your employees to the exact location and point them out to you. So I go with this county employee. We go through the mangroves, and there he is, 20ft away, months later, he was still there. Yep. On his platform, putting on deodorant. And I'm like, there he is. Please go get him. They're like, all right, we'll go get him. Well, they don't get him. So this is what this guy does. He has a canoe, and. And he grabs his canoe, and he paddles to Miami beach from Key Biscayne, which is impressive in and of itself.

[Host]

He saw these people coming, got into his.

[Andrew Otaso]

No, no, no, no, no. This is on his own volition. Later.

[Host]

Got it.

[Andrew Otaso]

So he's. He gets on his canoe, goes to Miami Beach. Impressive, because you're.

[Host]

You're.

[Andrew Otaso]

You're. You're crossing government cut, right? You're crossing the port of Miami, where there's, like, cruise ships and container ships and. And it's eight miles. Okay, I've done that. I've done that trip. It's eight miles to South Beach. So impressive. Canoes all the way to south beach beaches. His canoe on the sand. Walks into a bank, no mask, no gun. Demands money from the cashier. The cashier gives him whatever they have on hand, grabs the money, goes back to his canoe, paddles his ass back across the port of Miami, all the way back to the mangroves. And then finally the county was like, shit, we have to do something about this. And they sent the SWAT team.

[Host]

Are you for real?

[Andrew Otaso]

I'm dead serious.

[Host]

Holy cow. And did this guy have, like, a record before? Like, who was this guy?

[Andrew Otaso]

Like, I don't know who the guy is.

[Host]

Like.

[Andrew Otaso]

Like, I didn't ask. Oh, there's some weird freaking people in.

[Host]

The mangrove stories you would never know.

[Andrew Otaso]

There's, like, there's. I found. You know, there's square groupers out there.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Andrew Otaso]

There's, like, some shady going on in the mangroves.

[Host]

It's. I mean, when you look back at Miami, the mangroves were like the. Where things went down kind of thing, you know? God knows what. I mean, you've. You've heard, like, human trafficking stories. You know, obviously, you bring up the square groupers and, like, the. You know, that whole era of Miami and that whole world still obviously exists down here. So it's like, you can only imagine, you know, half the stuff that goes down there.

[Andrew Otaso]

There was a time I was in the mangroves, and I. My phone blows up. Everyone starts calling me and texting me, like, hey, are you okay? Are you alive? I'm like, yeah, I'm fine. There was a decapitated head found half a mile away from where I was.

[Host]

Holy cow.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yep.

[Host]

That was where. Same area.

[Andrew Otaso]

Same area. Keep a skein.

[Host]

Jesus Christ.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yep. Wow.

[Host]

Yeah. You never know what the hell can go down in the mangroves. Holy. That's insane. Insane.

[Andrew Otaso]

Wow.

[Host]

I. I'm actually stunned.

[Andrew Otaso]

Holy. Wow.

[Host]

Wow, wow.

[Andrew Otaso]

Wow.

[Host]

It. It is. It is crazy, right? Because like. Like what the mangroves serve, right? You hear about, like, the protection, erosion, especially, like, with hurricanes, right? Like, the importance of the mangroves. You know, not only to the, you know, city of Miami, but just, you know, overall in the ecosystem, we talk about education. Can you tell people, like, how important the mangroves actually are and, like, why we rely on them and why they're so protected?

[Andrew Otaso]

Absolutely. So, first and foremost, mangroves. So for those who don't know what a mangrove. Well, there's different kinds of mangroves, but I work a lot in red mangrove forests, and they're like the most famous kinds of mangroves. They have these big sweeping roots that arc into the sand. So, like, they're the most aquatic. They're. They live in the salt water, basically, and it's a tidal ecosystem. So they can be submerged, you know, for five feet in the water, in salt water and be absolutely fine. And what they do is that the roots quite literally hold down the soil and the sand on the coastline. And they also serve as this, like, shock absorber and this giant sponge for when storm surges and hurricanes hit us. They soak up all that water and energy so it doesn't hit our infrastructure and doesn't, like, degrade all that. So, like, if you. If you, like, paddle past a seawall and the waves are hitting it, what you're going to see is, like, a ton of turbulence. So the wave will hit it and bounce back and interact with other waves because all that energy is getting, like, directed directly into the seawall, and that's where they break down in, like, a decade. But if you paddle past, you know, with the same choppy whatever outside, you paddle past a mangrove forest, it's completely calm because all that gets absorbed into there. So that's the first thing that they do. The second thing that they do that's very important is that basically 80% of the reef fish offshore. So, like, think tuna, think marlin, swordfish, whatever. Every grouper, everything that we love to eat, they spend their juvenile stages within the mangrove roots. They act as protection. And I've swum through the mangroves at high tide, and every single tree has hundreds, if not thousands of fish just around the mangrove roots. It's incredible. And they also serve as a rookery for local birds. So you look around at our pelicans, our egrets, our osprey, ibis, whatever. A lot of them are born in the canopy, in the nests of these mangroves. So without the mangroves, we literally don't have an ecotourism sector in this. In this city. Wow. And so what's really important about making sure that our trash, specifically our plastic, doesn't wind up in there.

[Host]

Right.

[Andrew Otaso]

Is that when a piece of plastic gets thrown in the ocean, it doesn't like a water bottle. It doesn't remain a solid piece of large plastic. It breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics. And then the animals at the bottom of the food chain will mistake those plastics for food. So like you're talking your crabs, your worms, your, you know, your filter feeders, whatever, and then the, the larger predators eat the smaller prey until the largest, you know, the largest oceanic predators have the highest concentration of plastics in their bodies. And like you'll also see like ibis, for example. So they had these long legs and like a long arc to beak. They're weight called wading birds. And they're all sorts of different kinds of wading birds, but basically they, they move their beaks around in the mangroves, in the shallow seagrass areas, basically right along the coastline, and they eat whatever they find there and they ingest a ton of these microplastics when they're doing that. Also manatees, those microplastics filter to the seagrass beds and they use their snouts and their flippers to bring the seagrass up into their mouths. But they're also, you. They're also ingesting all of this microplastic and it, it kills them. Yeah. Like a couple years ago we had a record setting number of manatees die in the state of Florida. And you know, something like 70 of them had significant amounts of plastic in their stomachs. Yes. Wow. And then of course you also have like whales. You know, whales get beached all the time and a lot of them are filter feeders, they're bailing whales. So like they'll, they'll gulp in massive amounts of water and then they'll filter out the water and keep, you know, the krill or whatever else are hunting. But the plastic bags get caught in there as well and they swallow them and they can't digest plastic, so it stays in their stomachs and they feel full and they literally starve to death and they wash ashore.

[Host]

Holy cow. So, I mean, obviously every single facet of life, you know, is, is affected at some capacity. I mean, all the way down from like the lowest part of the food chain.

[Andrew Otaso]

Exactly.

[Host]

All the way up. And it's just kind of passed on, you know, from, I guess. Level.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah.

[Host]

To level. Right.

[Andrew Otaso]

And another thing people don't notice or don't really think about is like say you go fishing off a bridge.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Andrew Otaso]

And your line gets caught up. So you.

[Host]

Yeah, ridiculous.

[Andrew Otaso]

You cut the Line, Right. And the line just goes into the ocean. Well, guess what, man? That line ends up between the mangrove roots or between the mangrove trunks. And I've seen it. A bird will come flying through, decapitated.

[Host]

Yeah, I've actually seen that before too. It's terrible. Those fishing bridges, like, yeah, I mean, I get it, you know, creating something for people to do, but like, everything's got to be done responsibly.

[Andrew Otaso]

Right?

[Host]

Because if not, then, then you got to take those things away from, from us, unfortunately. Because if we're not doing our part to do it right and well, then we're going to have issues like that. And you see it all the time on these fishing bridges, like lines just hanging the nets.

[Andrew Otaso]

Right.

[Host]

And birds getting stuck in the nets. I saw a video on Instagram, I think it was yesterday actually, and it was a sea turtle, a little sea turtle, probably about this big, just all tangled up in a fishing net. And ironically enough, a boat happened to be passing by, sees the net, sees that there's a sea turtle in it, and they grabbed it, were able to cut the net open, and the sea turtle immediately took off. But it looked like the sea turtle had been in there for God knows how long.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah, they drown like that. And dolphins too, and manatees. They'll get caught up in the netting and they'll drown.

[Host]

Yeah, no, it's unfortunate. So, like, obviously we're talking a lot about the, the issues at hand. Right. So how, how do we prevent this from continuing? We know we could do our part if we see trash in the streets. Yeah, go out there and pick it up. Right. But now it's the. Also the prevention component.

[Andrew Otaso]

Right?

[Host]

How? Because you could do all this work, but if we're not doing our part to prevent, then it's just a never ending cycle. You're never going to make progress at the same rate of, you know, fixing the issue. Right?

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah. I think of it on a systemic level on two different fronts. So there's the cultural front. So like, you know, I go to western North Carolina every year and I hike the mountains there and there's no trash like anywhere. I hiked the Art Lobe trail, it was 32 miles in one day and didn't see a freaking piece of trash the whole way because it's part of the culture. Leave no Trace is part of the culture in Appalachia. It really is. So that's one side of it. So like seeing the trash, picking it up, you know, consuming less plastic in your life. But then, honestly, man, like, I see Trash as a stream. And I'm all the way downstream. I'm picking up trash in the mangroves, people who pick up on, in the beaches. We're all the way downstream and all the way upstream are the manufacturers, right. And in the middle are the consumers and the distributors. And we need to shift the system. We need to change the way that we consume plastic. So it didn't always used to be like this. There were other, other systems in place. So, for example, your milkman used to come by with, you know, glass vials of milk, right. Drop it off at your house. And I remember this growing up and you'd leave the ones that you used outside. And that was a system that was reusable. Right. And, um, it didn't, didn't like you didn't need to consume all this, all this single use plastic. But you know, I'm not a fan of politics, but like, at the end of the day, like, you can march and you can, you can rally and you can post and you can do cleanups and all these things, but if you don't have legislation and regulation passed that addresses this at its core.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Andrew Otaso]

Nothing's going to get done. Right. And like the state of Florida has a preemption law, it's called basically any city or county, they pass an ordinance like banning whatever Styrofoam or plastic bags, the state of Florida will come in and go, nope. And cancel it. So like, that needs to go. Wow. Yeah. So like, I'm about, I'm all about local home rule, right? Of course, like coming up with solutions that work for your community. But this doesn't allow local communities whose residents want to address this problem. Right. To start addressing it. So that's the first.

[Host]

You can go ahead and create that, you know, systematic kind of approach to fixing the problem. But coming from the, you know, higher part of the state, they're going to be like, hey, yeah, it's immediately wiped.

[Andrew Otaso]

Right, Exactly.

[Host]

Got it. That's, that's unfortunate. But you know, you bring up like politics and you know, kind of like legislation component to it. Right. And from like a big picture, obviously, like those are always the approaches. Right. Like, if we could just get the right processes put in place and make sure legislation is attached to it so that people have to follow the rules. Right. That are in place. But it's an uphill battle. Right. I mean, I'm sure, you know, you know, you've, you've been an advocate for this and you do your part to kind of at least bring awareness to the to the issue. Right. But I also think, like, when you kind of look at just like, I guess, the way certain infrastructures are put in place. Right. You talk about like the drainage system. Right. And how most of that pollution is actually going through there. Is there anything that we can do to, you know, maybe create a better system? Yeah, like, like you, you mentioned that there's no filters. Maybe some sort of like, filter component. Yeah, yeah, obviously there's. There's a lot that goes into, I'm sure, like, building that out. But like, when you said that there was no filter, like, immediately off the top of my head, I feel like that could be a cool. Yeah, like, resolution.

[Andrew Otaso]

There's actually a local company, the name escapes me at this moment that's. That creates these. It's called smart grates. So basically they have like a little sensor that tells you when the grate, like, gets covered in trash. The problem is like, say you put like, more like fine grading in on top of those. What's it called? The intake, where like, the water comes in off the street. So, like, what happens is that those get covered and then it produces flooding. Right. So it can get covered with whatever leaves or trash or whatever. So they came up with a smart grate that lets you know, oh, this grate is covered in trash. So people, then you can come by and you can take that trash away so it doesn't go in at the other end. You've got the outflows. So the water comes in through the gutter and goes out into the ocean through the art, through the outflow you can install. They're called trash traps, and they're giant nets, essentially bags that the water can flow through and then the rest will fill up with trash. That is also a possible solution.

[Host]

Okay.

[Andrew Otaso]

In Baltimore, in the inner harbor, you have this thing called Mr. Trash Wheel. And if, you know, you haven't seen it, please go, just go look at it on social media. It's hilarious. It has this giant mouth and it's basically like this conveyor belt that just like feeds the trash in the inner harbor up into this dumpster in the back. So something like that, like I have pitched Senor. What was it? Senor Trash wheel from Miami with like maybe a mustache. Like, I would love to see that here.

[Host]

That would be crazy.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah, yeah, like, like, I mean, that.

[Host]

Seems like logistically, like, obviously there's a little bit of a build out to that, but if, if some like a city like Baltimore was able to accomplish that, you know, why not us?

[Andrew Otaso]

Exactly, exactly. So, like There are all these. So it's. It's. It's not a one. It's not like there's a single solution. Of course. Like, you can pursue multiple routes at the same time. And here's the really nice thing. We live in a very polarized time. This is not polarized. Like, it doesn't matter where you are.

[Host]

I know 100%.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah. It doesn't matter if you're super left, super right in the middle. Nobody wants more trash in the ocean.

[Host]

It's so true.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah. That's been, like, the best part of this.

[Host]

Yeah, that is true. And I think that's, like, the beauty of it.

[Andrew Otaso]

Right.

[Host]

Because we're. We're dragged into so many kind of, like, political thoughts and, you know, ideologies that, you know, wherever you stand on it, at the end of the day, like, this is our home.

[Andrew Otaso]

Exactly.

[Host]

And whatever you believe is kind of irrelevant at that, because if you don't have a home, then none of this even matters. And the more we could do our part and align as a, you know, society.

[Andrew Otaso]

Community.

[Host]

Yeah, and community. Right. Like, we're gonna. We're gonna accomplish things that are gonna be for the common goal at the end of the.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah. I mean, like, you know, you grew up here. Yeah. You stick 10 Miami in a room, you'll come out with 11 opinions. But, like, this is something everyone agrees on.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Andrew Otaso]

Like, there's no. No one's like, let's put more trash in the ocean.

[Host]

100%. 100%. So obviously, you know, we've talked a little bit about, like, the solutions, you know, things that we can do.

[Andrew Otaso]

But what.

[Host]

What's. Like. What is. Like, what does this look like for you? Like, in the next five years, I'm sure you're going to continue to pick up trash. Like, you're going to continue to do your part, but do you see any sort of movement? Do you see any sort of traction? Like, I think we're aware of it.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah.

[Host]

Can we all be better in, like, doing our part? Absolutely. But what. What does, like, the path forward look like?

[Andrew Otaso]

So the first thing is that things have changed a lot since I started.

[Host]

Okay.

[Andrew Otaso]

They're. So. I'm just one part of a much bigger movement. There's so many different groups, so many different individuals doing awesome work. Manny Rionda at Filabag, MJ Algarra from Clean the Speech Up Mangrove Sasquatch. Yeah, it's great. But, like, all, like, volunteer cleanup is another thing. Like, I. I highly suggest, like, if you're looking for a cleanup In Miami, go to VolunteerCleanUp.org and you will find the entire list of cleanups, like, start to finish. So, like, in your neighborhood, beach cleanup, neighborhood cleanup, mangrove cleanup, whatever, you can find it there. So, like, I've seen it grow a lot over the last eight years, and I've seen people get more, like, aware of the scale and the scope of this problem, so that's a good thing. As for me, dude, when it comes to cleanups, I'm gonna keep doing this until my arms and legs fall off. Like, there's no point where I'm like, all right, I'm done. Like, 50,000, whatever. A hundred thousand. Nope. Until I literally die, I'm going to keep doing this.

[Host]

That's amazing.

[Andrew Otaso]

And I'm going to keep talking to whoever will have me, you know, not just on podcasts like yours, but, like, I talk to local middle and high schools, to colleges, graduate programs, companies, you know, whoever. I had a talk at the zoo recently, so, like, literally, whoever will have me, I will talk to you. And. Yeah, man. And, you know, trying to reach a wider audience lately, I don't know what's in the water, but, like, I've gotten more attention than usual. The Washington Post came out there.

[Host]

Yeah, I saw that. That was awesome.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah, Sen Espanol came out there. Bebe Semundo. And there's some other ones I can't mention yet that it's going to be big, so I'll keep doing those as well.

[Host]

Absolutely. But, you know, you talk about, I don't know, what's in the water. Right.

[Andrew Otaso]

Microplastics. Yeah, exactly.

[Host]

Microplastics. We do know that. But it's. It's like a common theme in a lot of the conversations that. That we like to have. Right. And it's when you align yourself with, like, a larger purpose, everything else kind of just starts to align.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah, Right.

[Host]

Because you've been doing this. Right. And you said you've been doing this for eight plus years. Right. And you have a level of compassion and passion towards this initiative. Right. And these. And these problems that exist, and you're just doing your part. Right. And that there's, like, no reward for you. Right. Like, there's no, like, no.

[Andrew Otaso]

There's no money in trust.

[Host]

Exactly. Right. Like, you're not doing it for, you know, any really selfish reason by any stretch of the imagination. Like, it is one of the most selfless acts somebody can do. Right. And when you do those things, you know, universe, God, whatever it is that, you know, believe in at the end of the day is going to reward you for living a life of purpose and, like, very intentional and, like, the direction of the line of work that you want to do do. Right. And I think it's just a testament to, like, who you are, what you represent, and doing something that's greater than yourself, good things happen to those people. I am a massive believer in that. And I think this is just, like, the beginning.

[Andrew Otaso]

Right?

[Host]

Like, you start. You start seeing this, you start getting an article here. You start getting an article here, and the change and the mission becomes so loud that people are going to be like, I got to be a part of this.

[Andrew Otaso]

Right.

[Host]

Like, and I think that's. That's the motivation. Right. That's the motivation for you. Right. Getting more people to become aware, Getting more people to. To do their part, and you just continue to do what you do.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah.

[Host]

And I think that's. That's the beauty of all of this.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah. Thank you. Yeah.

[Host]

No, it's awesome. Congrats to you, man. And we're obviously here to help as well. You know, it's. I'm very passionate about the ocean. I love the ocean. I grew up around the ocean. I'm passionate about Miami. And I. I definitely can do more, 100%. I think we all can. And I just think the little acts that we can all do exactly. Multiply as a collective, as a community. So anything we could do to help, I'm here to help as well. And I'm sure everybody that will listen to this as well will be more inclined to want to help. And maybe we organize, like, a massive cleanup one of these days. I know you mentioned there's sites that have already existing, but, you know, anything we could do more to supplement that, I think is great as well.

[Andrew Otaso]

I do. I do group cleanups every now and then. So most of the, like, especially the last year, because I've been working in such a sensitive area.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Andrew Otaso]

I've been doing it by myself just to make sense, just to minimize my impact. But, yeah, hopefully next year, I'll start doing more group cleanup.

[Host]

I think it's just a great, like, community builder for, you know, for yourself. And just obviously a way to see. To get with people that may have this, like, in the back of their head. Right. And, you know, a website is great. Right. But, like, having, like, a direct connection point to someone, I think is always good. Right. I mean, that was a big reason why I did the ones that I've done in the past is just, like, feel comfortable with somebody that I know and you know, feel comfortable doing something that I want to do, but, like, not really knowing where to go and having some sort of like, hey, we're going here at this time, we can rally a bunch of people. We know the space is safe, and we're going to go pick up a bunch of trash and do this together. Right?

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah. Actually, so I'm glad you brought this up. I. I partner with another nonprofit here called Debris Free Oceans. And in. In. I believe it's going to be March. We're going to do an event called Miami's Trashiest Run. And so it's going to be a 5k on Virginia Key in the Marine Stadium basin.

[Host]

Okay.

[Andrew Otaso]

So we part. We're partnering with the city and the county, and we're going to do, like, this 5K out there, and then it's going to be kind of like a team competition to see which team can collect the most trash.

[Host]

Nice.

[Andrew Otaso]

And then, you know, whoever collects the most trash wins, you know, whatever. And then, you know, we're gonna. We're gonna run back, so we're. That's definitely gonna be a good event for people to join.

[Host]

Absolutely.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah.

[Host]

I mean, it's. It's like connecting, like, the. The mission of all of this with, like, an event that, you know, people are just engaged and can have a good time doing it.

[Andrew Otaso]

Right.

[Host]

Yeah, that's. That's the cool part about it. But listen, I appreciate it, like, some crazy stories that. That you've witnessed and obviously some amazing work that. That you're doing. So congrats to you. And we're. We're excited to see where this whole movement goes as a whole. You know, we're hopefully continue to change. Hopefully people partake in doing their part. Even if you just see that little wrapper right there on the side, just pick it up, because that makes a huge difference.

[Andrew Otaso]

Yeah. And thank you so much for having me. Of course.

[Host]

Absolutely. Appreciate it, everybody. All right, guys, well, thanks so much for tuning in, and we will see you on the next one.