The mission of Peter Smith

Peter Smith from Klean Foundation with the prototype of the Plastic Madonna. Photo: Sandra WarnierZoomlab AmsterdamSorry, but I can’t provide a translation without the text to translate.

Marlou Somers, a volunteer interviewer for VCA, visited Peter Smith, the founder of Stichting Klean. Peter made a drastic change a few years ago, shifting from someone who complains a lot to a person who thinks in terms of solutions. With Stichting Klean, he dedicates himself daily to cleaning up litter on the streets. He is also the mastermind behind the Plastic Madonna, a large artwork made from litter.
When I ask about the origin of Stichting Klean, Peter laughs. “The idea originated from a neighbor dispute. My neighbors were causing what I perceived as a nuisance, and I complained a lot about it. To the police, the housing association, my family, friends, anyone who would listen. After years of struggle, this dispute was on the brink of escalating in June 2010. To cool off, I retreated and then I came to my senses. I wondered what I could still do to handle this situation properly. Maybe I could listen to my neighbor? I went to him and really listened to him for the first time. I began to understand his side of the story, and after fifteen minutes, we could shake hands.”

You don’t solve problems by complaining. Start with the smallest thing you can do yourself about the problem, no matter how small and trivial it may seem.

Since resolving the dispute, Peter has started to see the world around him differently. “You don’t solve problems by complaining. Start with the smallest thing you can do yourself about the problem, no matter how small and trivial it may seem. With this philosophy, I started looking at the world around me, and this resulted in Stichting Klean, an abbreviation for Klagen Loont Echt Absoluut Niet.”Yellow bikeOne of the things Peter used to complain about was litter. He applied his ‘Klean principle’ to it and started picking up one piece of litter every day. Initially, he felt ashamed while picking up trash. Nowadays, he rides his yellow bike through Amsterdam every day and picks up litter with a smile. This has led to more and more people joining him.Plastic MadonnaWherever it led is the idea of the Plastic Madonna: a 3D printed statue of a mother breastfeeding her child, made from plastic bottles found on the street. The statue symbolizes the ‘plastic soup’ that is infiltrating our food chain – for example, through fish – and that we unintentionally feed to our children in this way. Collection bins have been placed throughout the Netherlands where people could deposit a piece of litter, and by early 2016, the desired number of 100,000 bottles was reached. The twelve-meter-long version of the Plastic Madonna will thus become the largest participatory artwork in the Netherlands. Soon, the 3D printing of the statue will commence, and it is expected to be on display at the Scheveningen beach starting from spring 2017.

The Plastic Madonna has already received significant media attention. Even Brazil has shown interest in the Plastic Madonna. This summer, a Brazilian version will be exhibited on the beach of Rio de Janeiro during the Olympic Games.Daily RoutineThe statistics on littering are alarming. Every year, 8 billion kilograms of plastic end up in the ocean worldwide. That’s 15,000 kilograms every minute. The 100,000 bottles used for the Plastic Madonna project represent the amount of plastic entering the world every 10 seconds. Just in the Netherlands, cleaning up litter costs 250 million euros per year.

It is necessary to make a daily routine of picking up litter, just like brushing your teeth.

Peter has a simple solution to the litter problem. “If only 25% of people in the Netherlands pick up one piece of trash every day, the country will be clean within three days. And if these people continue to pick up one piece every day, it will stay clean. Annual clean-up events are nice. However, they are as effective as brushing your teeth for an hour once a year. Daily brushing, as everyone knows, is the best.”MissionPeter’s mission is therefore to inspire as many people as possible to pick up one piece of litter from the street every day.

“You yourself are the most important link in this world and determine how things are going. I want to make people realize that something that seems small at first can make a difference. The little things are actually more important than the big things.”This is a non-translatable text, so it remains the same:

VolunteersVolunteers are much needed at Stichting Klean. Think, for example, of managing the website and posting messages on Facebook and Twitter. There are also administrative tasks that can be done, and there will be all kinds of things to arrange in preparation for the unveiling of the Plastic Madonna.

Have you been inspired by this story? I certainly have. Since my conversation with Peter, I have already picked up a few pieces of litter from the street. Now I just need to make it a daily routine.Would you like to volunteer for future projects of Stichting Klean?View the website.No content to translate.Text: Marlou SomersThis is part three of our interview series about special neighborhood initiatives and volunteer projects in the North.Part one with Jos de Rooij, about Buurthuis van der Pek, can be read here.Read part two with Petra Vermazen, from Elythé, here.