The Litter Kickers

Meet the two brothers who are fighting to save the environment one piece of litter at a time.

By Holly Bullen

The strain we place upon the environment is increasing and younger generations are beginning to fear what state the Earth will be in for their futures.

Environmental figures such as Greta Thunberg have taken over our screens as they fight to persuade the government to protect the environment.

Kent has its own environmental warriors in the form of brothers Danny and Jojo Eisawy. Together they form the Litter Kickers.

The pair are passionate about protecting the environment and have made it their mission to keep their local streets clean from litter.

Their catchy name comes from their love for football and their determination to help save the environment. It was a pledge to spend the same amount of time they spend playing football, collecting litter.

When asking the pair why they started litter picking, Danny said: "Mainly it was Jojo who noticed first, all the impact of the litter on the environment not just physically but on David Attenborough programmes.

"So we bought a litter picker and decided to start the whole thing and share our pictures to raise awareness."

The boys remain keen fans of David Attenborough and Jojo highlighted that protecting animals from the destruction shown on the programmes was one of his motivations to start litter picking.

He said: "We saw Blue Planet and at the end it showed all that damage that was being done and all the animals that were dying and suffering because of all the plastic."

Blue Planet II highlights the damage that plastic waste can cause to marine life.

Below is a clip of the boys talking about why the environment is important to them.

Jojo, 9, and Danny, 11, with the litter they collected.

Jojo, 9, and Danny, 11, with the litter they collected.

Jojo and Danny collecting litter at one of their usual spots.

Jojo and Danny collecting litter at one of their usual spots.

Jojo retrieving discarded litter from a stream.

Jojo retrieving discarded litter from a stream.

Jojo collecting a discarded carrier bag.

Jojo collecting a discarded carrier bag.

The boys are kept busy by school, homework and football training. However, they still manage to find time to dedicate to litter picking several times a week.

Danny spoke about how often they go litter picking.

He said: "We go about three or four times a week properly organised but sometimes we just go outside to the shops and bring litter pickers with us just in case."

They regularly share updates on their twitter page after they have been out litter picking. This is to help raise awareness and encourage others to do the same.

Tonbridge is a big area to cover so the boys tend to go to the same places which are always packed with full of litter.

Once they have collected the litter they act responsibly when disposing of it. They sort the litter into what can and cannot be recycled. This ensures the best outcome for the environment.

With multiple litter picking trips a week, the pair must have collected a great deal of litter since they started.

Shockingly some of the litter they have collected has been there for years. They once discovered a lemonade can which was 40 years old.

Danny said: "It is good to show people how long litter stays in the environment for. It is not just going to suddenly disappear."

Last year the Litter Kickers discovered that their litter pickers could be used for another less conventional purpose. They could be used to rescue toads that found themselves trapped in drains.

Danny said: "People think toads can swim but actually they will drown after a while.

"We found another use for our litter pickers. We started going around and checking drains."

Some of the toads Danny and Jojo rescued.

Some of the toads Danny and Jojo rescued.

The pair think that they rescued about 30 toads in total. Once rescued from the drain the toads were released safely back into the wild.

What can people do to help?

The boys discussed what they think people should be doing to help and how easy it is for people to start litter picking.

One thing people in the Tonbridge community could be doing to help the cause is to sign up to the 'Commit to your street scheme'.

With the help of their mum Charlotte, the boys set up the scheme in May 2019 and 150 streets have now signed up. This symbolises a commitment for residents to keep their street clean.

There is still a way to go however, as the boys said they still witness people littering around Tonbridge.

Danny told the story of when they saw a group of teenagers littering outside McDonald's.

He said: "It made me quite annoyed. They said they were doing it to feed the squirrels, which isn't much of an excuse because i'm sure pieces of cardboard and plastic bags aren't on a squirrels' diet."

How much do you know about litter?

A quiz

In addition to action in the local community, the boys think the government could be doing more to help combat litter.

Danny said: "The government has put in some measures but I don't think they're enough. I think they should be more serious about it because it is a problem and they are responsible for doing what is best for the country."

However, Jojo believes the government wouldn't have to take more action if people just stopped littering.

He said: "It's not always what the government is doing, it's the people that are dropping the litter in the streets."

Influenced by the 'School strike for climate' and Greta Thunberg, the boys have taken part in around 15 of their own school strikes.

The boys would take part in their strikes at the beginning of the school day so they did not miss any of their lessons.

Despite the current Covid-19 pandemic forcing us all to stay inside our homes, the boys are still determined to carry on litter picking.

They had previously mentioned that bad weather conditions would not stop them and it seems they are taking a similar approach with Covid-19.

The pair spoke about the potential closure of their school would affect their litter picking.

The pair spoke about the potential closure of their school would affect their litter picking.

They are determined to stay positive whilst in lockdown and are spreading this positive message on their Twitter page.

The window display at their Tonbridge home to help spread positivity during this time.

The window display at their Tonbridge home to help spread positivity during this time.

More drawings continue to be added to the window.

More drawings continue to be added to the window.

Support for the Litter Kickers

The boys have received a lot of support within their local area but have also now had TV appearances on both KMTV and BBC South East.

Jojo and Danny on the KMTV sofa.

Jojo and Danny on the KMTV sofa.

Their Twitter account @LKickers now has over 1,000 followers and users regularly respond to their posts with positive comments.

They have received lots of positive support from their mum Charlotte.

She said: "They're doing a really good job, there's a lot of worse things they could be doing. They're always keen to go out and they've never had any nasty or negative criticism."

She spoke about the positive support they have received online.

A final message from the Litter Kickers

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