Joshua Caraway hated the sight of trash littering Miami Beach, so he decided to do something about it.
The thoughtful University of West Georgia student spent part of his spring break cleaning up trash, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
He began picking up trash with his bare hands and walking it to the bins on March 22. The following day, Caraway set out with a trash bag and gloves to collect the debris.
“I like keeping our home safe and clean,” the biology major said.
Caraway didn’t think his actions were a big deal, but they attracted a lot of attention.
While he was cleaning, Caraway was approached by Miami Beach Police Department Major Paul Acosta, who wanted to present him with a certificate.
“He said thank you and wanted to take me to the police station to give me a certificate or something, but I had to leave the next morning,” Caraway told WSVN.
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Instead, Acosta gave the 19-year-old a shoutout on Twitter.
So I told Joshua, you’ve been picking up trash for a long time instead of hanging out and listening to music. I asked why. He says, he love animals and wants to take care of their home and ours. Boom???????? #Thankyou for caring about our environment and @MiamiBeachNews
https://t.co/rZaC2AaGk5— Paul Acosta ???????????????? (@PaulAcostaMBPD) March 23, 2019
The post went viral and has been shared more than 200,000 times. Animal specialist Mike Holston, Caraway’s role model, also gave him his due props.
My role model @Therealtarxann posted me on his insta story and this real has me in shock. I have a strong love for animals and plan to be a animal specialist as well. I look up to this man and for him to recognize me is just so cool .. this made my whole entire day pic.twitter.com/V4zd5u0Y4s
— josh ????♂️ (@boppay) March 24, 2019
He also inspired other people to tend to Mama Earth.
A group just showed up to clean the beach! ???????????????? pic.twitter.com/AFWIAZM8yg
— Joel Franco (@OfficialJoelF) March 23, 2019
Caraway’s love of nature extends past collecting Solo cups. He hopes to work with animals one day and wants to keep doing his part.
“I just love the environment and to clean up the earth,” he said.
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