Massachusetts photographer's "crap trap" collects trash at Woburn pond and turns it into art
WOBURN - A Woburn man is cleaning up the environment with sweat equity and his invention to catch trash in the waterways.
It's called the "crap trap". It can be found floating in the water near Horn Pond. It is the creation of photographer Roberto De Souza. He has photographed numerous animals getting injured by the trash in the area.
"You get to find birds and wildlife that you don't get to see anywhere else, and this is in the middle of the city," said De Souza. "You see the trash, and the wildlife around all of the trash. There are fishing lines entangling animals."
De Souza clears trash using the trap, but he also gets into the water to fish out debris by hand. He has accumulated more than 340 pounds of trash in the last three months. This includes more than 600 mini bottles. Even the trap itself is made of recycled materials.
"Most of the people think the trash comes from people walking, but it does not. It comes from the streets, and this stream of water goes across the whole city," said De Souza, who adopted a storm drain in front of his home. "I make sure to clean that often. If every person here picked up a plastic bottle imagine the impact on the environment."
De Souza began displaying the trash as art, and that's when he says people began taking notice and asking questions. His work even encouraged the town to put trash cans around the pond.
"Now with all of the trash barrels around, it is so easy for us," said De Souza. "I don't think I am picking up trash from irresponsible people. I am picking up trash for the wildlife, and to make the place better for them."
