The Dark Art of Volunteering

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On May 17th, we organised a clean-up at Cais Comercial de Faro. Despite promoting the event weeks in advance with local partners, on social media, in online newspapers, as well as sharing it through word of mouth, only one participant joined us.

So, on that day, three people managed to collect 174 kg of trash in five hours under the Portuguese sun. Let those numbers sink in.

We couldn’t help but wonder about the current state of civic participation in volunteering events. Over the years, as Projeto Gea, we have organised clean-ups not only along the seaside but also in mountainous areas, and we have seen a diverse array of participants from various countries. Some individuals come back regularly as habitual volunteers, while others participate just once, and some join spontaneously after seeing a cleaning event taking place. 

During the clean-ups, we also receive numerous comments from people passing by during these events. Some of the comments include:

- “There’s no point in doing a clean-up; within minutes, it will look the same.” 

- “Are you rich and just have too much time on your hands?” 

- “Not worth it!” 

- “Are you from the municipality?”

- “Bravo! Are you volunteers?” 

- “You do this for free?” 

- “I always throw my trash in the bin.” 

- “This trash belongs to whatever-group-to-blame. They just don’t care.” 

- “The wind brings all the trash here.” 

- “Those tourists are always littering everywhere.”

- “I always recycle”

- “Once I participated in a clean-up, it was 20 years ago.”

- “I didn’t hear about the event, have you posted somewhere?”

And many times, people would just stop and stare without a word. 

Time to reflect.

Maybe there is a general apathy towards civic involvement in clean-up events. Maybe some of the comments reflect a belief that individual efforts are futile, suggesting a disconnect between community members and the impact of collective action. In addition, maybe there is a tendency to blame external factors or others for littering, rather than focusing on personal responsibility and community involvement. Maybe there is a misunderstanding of the motives behind volunteer work, because many may not recognise the desire to contribute positively to the community. And last but not least, maybe people are not educated enough or aware of the broader consequences of waste pollution and environmental degradation.

These are some of our observations, but it’s important to recognise that they are not absolute truths. They represent patterns we've noticed, which may vary among different individuals and communities. Engaging in open dialogue about these observations can help us better understand the complexities of civic participation and the factors influencing volunteer efforts.

We’d love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to share your insights and opinions with us.