Meet Sara Astudillo | Clean Earth Advocate, Artist and Activist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sara Astudillo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sara, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Taking the Trash Out began as a need for more people to get involved in their community, the accountability behind our plastic consumption and the lack of education toward where our waste actually ended up. The motive was more about spreading knowledge and awareness through action and observation. It feels natural to teach with “hands on” education, so it was a no brainer that clean ups would allow the community to feel accomplished of their work, proud of their community and a sense of understanding how daily waste contributes to this worldwide issue.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
One major factor that sets us apart is our emphasis on using sustainable options and materials to avoid further pollution. We rarely use plastic bags, we avoid disposable gloves and we provide reusable items instead. We also encourage the use of refillable canteens and provide drinking water instead of plastic bottles. We sort the trash and recycle what we can to avoid contributing to landfills. The biggest take away and pride I receive has to be what others learn from cleaning up. Whether it be how to properly recycle a certain item to understanding which numbered plastics are recycled most. The valuable information learned by volunteers is then personally applied to their everyday life, and that is my favorite part.
As a Non-Profit, our take back from all this is solely to educate the public and the environmental impact that may create. I manifested this organization with friends and peer support, and I truly believe that is why we continue to be successful in our endeavors. The only easy part of our clean ups is actually cleaning up. Much work, organization, planning, collaborating, raising funds, doing research, etc., goes into every Clean Up.
Highlighting everyone’s support is pertinent, as it was all possible by coming together. An important lesson I learned is that my consistency was a crucial part of this movement. A few times, my peers would feel unsettled by a “small turnout”, but I chose to quickly change that narrative to “we’re still here doing it, and one person DOES make a difference”. I realized, a few years before this I was cleaning beaches, parks and trails by myself, so personally it beams me up when people collectively care and implement the work with me.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Born and raised in San Diego will have a girl bragging about all there is to experience here. If I had a week to visit, here’s what I’d do: First and Foremost check the weather! For a gloomier day, I would set out for a hike at Lake Hodges or Elfin Forest Reserve in Escondido. San Marcos Trails by CSUSM are great too! The breweries here are top-notch, so I’d go to Stone Brewery for their Brussel sprouts and Beer mac n cheese or Churchills for their Wing Wednesday deal. If I can I’ll stop at Yellow Deli for a Banana Milk, or Peppertree Frosty for some ice cream.
On a hotter day I’d cruise the 101 from Oceanside all the way down to La Jolla/ Scripps area. You’ll pass pristine Carlsbad beaches and State St (downtown C-Bad), and through one of my favorite surf towns; Kooky Leucadia. If you stop there you have to go to Seaside Market and try their infamous tritip (Leucadia Crack) and check out views and surfers at Beacon’s Beach. Keep heading south and you have “beer buddies” and pie at Pizza Port in Solana Beach. Alas, La Jolla offers gems like kayaking through harmless shark waters, breathtaking coves, and secret swings that are, well… a secret near the Scripps aquarium.
More wonders that I love have to be the diversity of nature in East county like Warner Springs and its connected PCT trails. The 78 East will guide you to Safari Park, San Pasqual Valley, breathtaking wineries, more hiking trails and gorgeous fields. Eventually landing in a quaint mountain town called Julian- famous for their apple pie and snowfall in the winter. Keep heading East and you’ll connect to Palomar Mountain where you can visit their campgrounds and observatory. If you like desert fun, southeast on the 8 will guide you toward Glamis and Ocotillo Wells (which is poppin in October!)
You can’t forget all the more touristy areas that are all worth seeing: Oldtown for Mexican Culture and warm handmade tortillas, Downtown SD for city vibes, Harbor Park for concerts, Chicano Park/Barrio Logan for culture and insight on Indigenous History and exquisite Art murals. Seaport Village for small biz gift shopping, Balboa Park for endless museums and gardens, Mission Beach for Belmont Park, but by all means do not miss out on the best smoked Fish Taco in town at Oscar’s Mexican Food in Pacific Beach. I would recommend eating at Tourmaline Surf Park and disposing trash properly when finished.
If you’re looking for an evening of fine dining my favorite spots are: Mister A’s in Banker’s Hill, Herb and Sea in Encinitas, The Marine Room in La Jolla and The Pony Room at the Fairmont in Del Mar. Overall, San Diego’s diversity is unmatched, so you’ll have fun all around.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Taking the Trash Out is a grassroots style movement and has been successful due to the endless support by volunteers, collaborators and sponsors. From SDCannnaBlogger, The Daily High Club, Vetality Corp. Done Proper and Butterfly Breathwork to Confections by Yovana, Chingona Cakes, Bob Capella and Sonora Refillery- we are so grateful to have had like minded individuals join us on our mission to reduce emissions to 0% by 2050.

Website: https://www.takingthetrashoutefforts.org

Instagram: Takingthe_trashout

Other: Email: takingthetrashoutefforts@gmail.com

Image Credits
Nate Cannon