One of Cobalt Zucker’s favorite quotes is “Be the change you wish to see in the world?” by Mohandas K. Gandhi. You may recognize him from Instagram as TrashCleanupsHawaii, known for taking care of the island of Oʻahu — solo and with others — one trash bag at a time.
Born and raised on Oʻahu, Zucker is a graduate of Kalani High School and the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa Shidler College of Business. He works for Servco Pacific Inc. as a brand marketing specialist for multiple Lexus and Subaru dealerships across the island.
He told Aloha State Daily that he started doing neighborhood trash cleanups during the Covid-19 pandemic but didn’t create content until about a year ago.
“Being at home and having time to reflect, I thought, ‘God is good for so many blessings in my life,’ first of all, just our lives here in Hawaiʻi, being born and raised here and have a loving family, so it came from a place of gratitude,” he said. “The park by my house had a lot of trash, so that’s how the cleanups started.”
Within the last year, TrashCleanupsHawaii has highlighted various cleanups around different neighborhoods. Now, he says, the goal is to inspire people to get involved.
The cleanups are based around his schedule, usually Wednesdays after work and/or Saturday mornings. “I go by myself, sometimes for only 5 to 10 minutes, but it’s always surprising how much you can get done. I try to open it up to group cleanups once a month."
Zucker keeps a running list of places that may need a good sweep, though he generally stays close to home between town and Central O’ahu.
On social media, he has collaborated with other local influencers like JustSmallKineThings, HungryHungryHawaiian and HawaiiNewsReport, and says followers continue to reach out and show support.
“I’m trying my best to manage it. I aim to make the messages positive and inspiring, centered on service and doing good, and not using it to be popular or be famous, but using it for good purposes."
ASD asked him about the strangest items he's discovered while cleaning up. “I find a lot of random things out there,” Zucker said with a laugh. “I found money once, that was cool. Parking tickets, knives and machetes. Needles are not fun to find. Poop in a cup.”
But one of the most memorable items he picked up was a breakup letter in in Waipahu.
His advice for someone on the fence about volunteering in their community? “Just do it. What holds me back sometimes is not knowing anyone. At the end of the day, it’s always a group of like-minded people who want to take care of Hawai’i, take care of the world. It’s a positive environment, you just gotta go out there and do it.”
Zucker said another personal goal is to support nonprofits either financially or through service, to be able to recommend group cleanups especially to others. He enjoys volunteering with Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi, UH Mānoa and Malama Maunalua, and has donated to Hawaiʻi Foodbank, and the Institute for Human Services. He also recently highlighted Kanu Hawaiʻi, a nonprofit that shares other nonprofits' community events throughout the Islands.
“There’s a lot of great nonprofits out there and if you’re inspired, you should find one that resonates with you … or just grab a bag, some gloves and get started wherever [you] are. Everyone has trash bags at home and you can get gloves from the store for like $4.”
Prior to TrashCleanupsHawaii, he and his girlfriend also launched a community group, called, Malama Initiative, which brings food and hygiene care packages to those in need. “We’re trying to share the love and aloha, be a positive force and take care of Hawai’i.”
Looking ahead, Zucker said he plans to continue making videos, reaching out to influencers, and "just keep sharing the message to inspire people.”
He told ASD what inspires him most is: "My faith. I think listening to God and following His lessons of humility, service and sharing love to others always pushes me to be more giving or to do more in service, often more than I would want to, but I am compelled to because life is good, God is good, and God will provide."
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Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
