Maine woman sells ‘Trashy Greetings’ to help clean PH beaches

Annie Jenkins, of South Portland, Maine has been cleaning beaches “for years.” SCREENSHOT WTMW

A woman in Maine is trying to help clean up one million pounds of trash from the oceans in one year by starting “a trashy greeting card” business.

Annie Jenkins, of South Portland, Maine told WMTW News that there is a seemingly unending trail of trash to pick up. “Lots of rope, lots of busted traps and nets, and it just feels really good to get it out of the ocean.”

Each Trashy Greeting sells for $1. Jenkins said each dollar raised pays to remove one pound of trash and none of it ends up in a trash can. WEBSITE

Jenkins and her friend Greg Daley launched an international fundraising organization called Trashy Greetings, which sells their own line of e-cards. There are no hardcopy cards, just e-cards sent via text.

The money raised from each text is donated to beach cleanup efforts in the Philippines, where Jenkins said the ocean trash problem seems acute.

She and Daley have been cleaning beaches for years, but last year, they challenged each other to each pick up 1,000 pounds of trash. It took less than a month to reach their goal.

Each Trashy Greeting sells for $1. Jenkins said each dollar raised pays to remove one pound of trash and none of it ends up in a trash can.

Trashy Greetings has removed more than 32,000 pounds of trash removed from the ocean since it started a few months ago, Jenkins said.