Self-described "Trash Punx" helping clean up storm debris in San Jose
SAN JOSE - Justin Imamura is a San Jose native and professional drummer who got tired of seeing his hometown fill up with trash, so he did something about it. Borrowing the energy and DIY attitude he knew from the punk rock scene, he formed a new group to clean up the streets, and called it the Trash Punx.
"We are the voices, the hands and feet of mother nature and we're just trying to clean up as much as we possibly can," Imamura said.
What started in 2017 with a few fellow rockers has now grown into a smooth running and respected non-profit, complete with loyal volunteers like a corporate group from ASML Semiconductor and Los Gatos retiree Yana Arnold.
"If we don't do it, it's not getting done," Yana said.
On this day, the Trash Punx' targeted cleanup is at Coyote Creek and Roosevelt Park.
"Today, what we're doing is we're cleaning up the aftermath of the crazy storms we just had here in San Jose and the Bay Area," Imamura said.
"All the water rose super high and as you can see, there's still quite a bit of trash that washed up here in the creek and eventually, this stuff is going to wash out to the ocean and kill all the wildlife."
The water was still too deep for volunteers to wade in.
So, the Trash Punx came up with a work-around.
"On the overpass here, I just lower a magnet and stell hook down and kinda just go fishing for metal and right here I have an old can of bug spray. This is really bad to have in the water too," said Tj Lauters.
It fits with Justin's orginal motto of "cleaning up the world, one piece of trash at a time."
"One little piece times a million people, that's a lot of pieces of trash. So, if we all just clean up one piece at a time, we can make a massive, massive difference," Imamura said.
Justin estimates the Trash Punx have cleaned up over half a million tons of trash since the group was formed in 2017..
And their E-waste collection days have properly disposed of many tons more of outdated electronics.
Justin plans to expand Trash Punx to other parts of the Bay Area.
And this spring, he's travelling to Africa, to share his cleanup and recycling methods with the leaders of a small village.
'We start with love. Love for each other and love for the environment, Imamura said.
He knows this type of cleanup work will probably never be finished.
But in Justin's mind, that's no reason not to keep on trying.