Leland man turns daily walks into mission to keep community clean

LELAND, N.C. (WWAY) — While most people spend their morning walks counting steps, one Leland man is counting pieces of trash.

Shawn Stovall is proving that one person can make a difference by turning his daily exercise routine into a community cleanup effort.

“I’ve always kind of been an anti-litterbug,” said Stovall.

A Leland resident and man of faith who often shares the gospel with others, Stovall has also become known around town for something a little different — picking up trash.

Four to five days a week, Stovall suits up for his morning routine. A visor, sunglasses, a pair of New Balance sneakers and a few grocery bags are all he needs to get started. Even with temperatures climbing into the 90s, he keeps moving.

“I feel like it’s all part of the exercise experience because that’s priority number one. That’s really what the trash pickup is. I call it my forcing mechanism. It gets me out of the house,” said Stovall.

Stovall begins his mile-and-a-half trek in his Magnolia Greens neighborhood, walking the sidewalks in search of litter.

From there, he makes his way through nearby shopping centers and restaurants before reaching what he calls the “mother lode” of trash — the busy stretch of U.S. Highway 17 lined with businesses and heavy traffic.

“People are going by with pickup trucks and the beds are open. You never know what might fly out of that. I’ve had full bags of trash,” said Stovall.

Most days, Stovall finds cans, bottles and cigarette butts. Occasionally, he comes across something far more unusual.

“One of the craziest things I’ve actually ever found was a discarded birth control device,” said Stovall.

But one person’s trash can literally be another person’s treasure.

During one of his cleanup walks, Stovall found a AAA card, then a checkbook, a driver’s license and a credit card.

Determined to reunite the items with their owner, Stovall tracked down Angela Love.

“My first reaction is I started laughing, because I thought this is so incredible that someone has found a AAA card and kept looking for other things,” Love said. “We both agreed it was a blessing that my things were found,” said Love.

Love is now one of many supporters cheering on Stovall’s efforts. Drivers frequently honk and wave as he makes his rounds.

For Stovall, the motivation behind his cleanup mission is simple.

“I get it. I’ve littered myself. There’s grace for everybody. But think about it before you toss something out the window. Put it in a proper receptacle and help make your area beautiful,” said Stovall.

On a typical day, Stovall will collect enough trash to almost fill a plastic grocery bag.