Photo: Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group
Armed with a garbage picker and hi-viz vest, volunteer firefighter Tyler Kroen found a dead rattlesnake as he walked along a country road. The San Martin Trash Bash added it to a list of odd finds that includes hundred-pound tractor tires, porn DVDs and even dead goats. In unincorporated San Martin, the group of volunteers cleaned up 1,300 lbs. of trash in 2024 alone. The group began back in 2017 when the San Martin Neighborhood Association was trying to figure out what to do about the trash. Twice a year, a few dozen volunteers gather tons of trash at their twice-yearly cleanups, peaking at 7.7 tons in 2019. Caltrans, which spent over $100 million cleaning up some 1.3 million bags of trash along state highways in 2020, helps provide the volunteers with supplies like buckets, garbage bags and safety cones.
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