An Overdue Cleanup
Photos by Sonia Gurrola
Making the difference
Igor Leonity of Overdue Cleanup picks up trash at Lake Balboa Park. (Sonia Gurrola | Scene Magazine)
Jessica Gonzalez and Egor Chumak began their volunteering journey with the Overdue clean-up group in Jan. 2021 and slowly made the change that the Los Angeles community desperately needs as a couple.
"I feel like this environmental issue transcends things like race, ethnicity and culture because it affects everyone," Chumak said. "I think that's one of the things that I like about Overdue, it's so diverse, and you get to connect with so many different people."
Los Angeles produces an average of 59,000 tons of trash every day and a considerable percentage is improperly disposed of in public areas, according to the LA county website.
Maxwell Suwaki is a 27-year-old man that recently moved from Portland, Oregon to Los Angeles. Within a week of moving, Suwaki's dog Leon almost stepped on a heroin needle in a public parking lot.
Suwaki was already shocked because of how much trash was left in public compared to Portland, but after his dog was put in danger, he knew he had to do something. He decided that a clean-up of Los Angeles was far overdue, leading him to start a community clean-up called Overdue.
Gonzalez and Chumak found out about Suwaki's project through the Nextdoor application. They decided that it was necessary to show support by donating money and eventually showing up to participate in the clean-ups.
“You know, you try to do something, but quite often as a person, you may feel alone in trying to make a difference, and Overdue kind of brought that like community aspect to it," Gonzalez said.
Besides hosting clean-ups twice a day, Overdue aims to educate people about the trash they throw away and why it should be separated into different categories of waste.
"There's a big knowledge buildup that happened after we joined Overdue. For example, If you throw in your recycling something contaminated with food, LA city decides the whole load is considered contaminated, and that goes into landfill," Chumak said.
“You know, you try to do something, but quite often as a person, you may feel alone in trying to make a difference, and Overdue kind of brought that like community aspect to it”
Gonzalez and Chumak explained what it means to them to take care of the environment they surround themselves in, whether they consider it their home or not.
"I want to make it a thing where if we travel somewhere, to try to join a clean-up organization to learn a little bit more about the community, the location, and the culture," Chumak said.
Gonzalez has a deep connection with her community, being born and raised in Los Angeles.
"It is my home, it's dear to me, so I wanna make my home clean and if there are other people here who can contribute to that, I'll support them," Gonzalez said. "From my travels, I experienced that a lot of transient cities have this tendency of being very dirty or trashy because you just expect a lot of tourists to come and go."
Chumak was born in Ukraine and moved to Russia before officially moving to the United States at 17-years-old. His girlfriend Gonzalez pointed out that Chumak has gone above and beyond to help his community in Los Angeles from the second he has been here.
"When we had the heavy rains, like out of the blue, he said, ‘I gotta run. I gotta go after work to take a picture of the LA river because we need this as proof for Overdue to show the city how much trash is accumulated during the rain at lake Balboa and what we're dealing with,'" Gonzalez remarked. "I'm like, wow, this takes dedication. He was committed to getting that picture in that very narrow window of opportunity."
Lifelong friendships are formed for volunteers showing up every day and bonding over passions to create a healthier environment as well.
Over the past year, the number of volunteers showing up to Overdue clean-ups has tripled. Volunteers have begun to bring their friends, family and pets to help Suwaki take his clean-ups further.
Chumak and Gonzalez have both agreed that the success of the clean-up organization is all because of Suwaki.
Alma Leon (left) and Rachel Rosenberg (right) clean up Lake Balboa Park. (Sonia Gurrola | Scene Magazine)
"I would say it's a hundred percent credit to Max; that guy has persistence like a honey badger. He just would not give up," Chumak remarked.
The couple expresses that at times, they had little to no hope that they were making a difference.
"There've been a few times when I've literally felt like giving up, and he just keeps going like every morning, afternoon. It doesn't matter if it's raining or shining, Max is going to be there," Chumak said.
Every day since Oct 13. 2020, Suwaki has been hosting clean-ups, even if he was the only one attending.
Overdue has made more than just an environmental difference by collecting over 57,000 pounds of trash, according to their social media where they keep track.
The organization has also changed volunteers' personal lives forever.
"Coming to one clean-up, they're gonna learn something new, and they're gonna bring it home. Whether it's the principle, they make new friends, learn how to better recycle or where to get a better graber that doesn't break, it does guarantee they learn something," Chumak said. "It just takes showing up at least once."
