It is a truth universally acknowledged that both the DC dating scene and DC parks are afflicted with an overabundance of trash that mitigates the potential of their respective positions, regardless of an individual’s attempts to sift through. Honestly, it sucks. So here at Surfrider DC, we run a little party called Love is Trash to help on both fronts.
Love is Trash was born three years ago when Alex Marstall, long time chapter chair, and I were heading to the annual East Coast Surfrider Conference. Driving from DC to Wrightsville Beach provided plenty of time to discuss the important topics of new chapter event ideas while sprinkling in misadventures in the dating scene. Though Alex is a traitor who went and fell in love with her best friend, Love is Trash lives on for the rest of us hopeless romantics looking for that special someone to grab our heart with a trash grabber.
Love is Trash 2025 brought us not one but TWO love stories. Okay, fine, one was just a first date that both attendees agreed was just fine but wasn’t going to go anywhere. BUT THE OTHER story was local lovebirds Caroline and Kory. They met last year hauling trash bags up Lover’s Lane, and are still going strong well over a year later, hiking and exploring together, alongside serving as our beacons of hope and mascots for the 2026 event.
This year, thanks to shout outs in multiple DC influencer event round ups, we clocked over 150 attendees at our February 21 event in Meridian Hill Park. Our Volunteer Coordinator and official matchmaker, Anita Harrington, kicked us off with icebreakers, and then groups and pairs set out, because what better way to get to know someone than picking up trash together? The vibes stayed strong after the cleanup as we headed to an afterparty at our neighborhood Ocean Friendly Restaurant, Vagabond Kitchen and Bar. After informally surveying the crowd (I don’t think proper interview techniques include beer in hand), we did not hear of any prospective dates scheduled, but many Instagram handles were engaged in the name of platonic connection. And what if the real Love is Trash was the friends we made along the way?
However, one attendee, who wished to remain anonymous, was quoted as saying, “I shook hands with a cute guy at one point and then thought about his hands the rest of the day, ugh like I’m some Bridgerton character.” Well, gentle reader, while the chapter and ton are aghast at the scandal of two hands brushing at the clean up ungloved…we will be keeping a watchful eye on this endeavor, to see if a match has developed by Love is Trash 2027.
But the real scandal…how the hell did we pull over 700 pounds of trash out of just one park? A couple of factors contribute to this. All of DC parks are managed by the National Parks Service, which you may have heard, has had a year rougher than the supposed standouts I get on Hinge. Federal budget cuts by DOGE and lasting effects of 2025’s thirty five day government shutdown have eviscerated conservation, maintenance, and recreation programs. Remaining DC park staff are underfunded and overstretched, leaving duties like trash collection to fall to the wayside, to no fault of the rangers’ own. The abundance of litter we see though, whether it makes its way into a park trash can or is picked up from the ground, is plastic bottles. Each year, an estimated 285 million plastic bottles in DC miss recycling and end up as trash or litter across the city, polluting our lands and waterways.
Which is why all the real hotties support the DC Bottle Bill. Surfrider DC is part of 3RC for DC, a local coalition fighting for passage of a beverage container deposit law, aka the Bottle Bill, to mimic legislation seen in states like Hawaii, Vermont, and New York, where plastic bottles can be collected and exchanged for a deposit. Proven more effective than just traditional recycling programs, the Bottle Bill will not only reduce litter but also pass savings to the district as the costs of recycling shift from taxpayers to the beverage companies. Currently, the bill is stuck in committee, but you can be a part of the action. If you’re a DC resident, contact not only your Ward representative, but also the at-large members, and ask them to join the initiative that will result in cleaner water and healthier communities for all of DC.
So let’s get rid of the trash on at least one front. Call your DC Council reps and demand passage of the bottle bill. Call your federal reps and demand full funding of parks programs. Pick up trash when you see it, and join the local community network both doing what we can ourselves alongside fighting for systemic changes.
And as for the trash in the dating scene…I have no recommendations on that, other than I’ll be seeing y’all at Love is Trash again next year.