NORTH ADAMS — “Please do better.” David Grimes of North Adams said Saturday, imploring his fellow residents to stop littering. “There are plenty of trash cans around,” he added. David Grimes, his wife Tiffany Grimes and their son Landon participated in an Earth Day cleanup event organized by Green North Adams on Saturday morning. They circled the city library, picking up 5 pounds of trash on the way. Jenny Dunning and Barbara May of Green North Adams, a citizen committee advocating for local sustainability, met participants in the library parking lot Saturday morning, handing each a large trash bag and gloves — some of which were donated by Carr Hardware — and sending them out to wherever they see trash. The Department of Public Services also lent a dump truck to assist in the cleanup. Volunteers toiled from 9 a.m. to noon. Before 9:30 a.m., about 15 people joined the cleanup. The participation, especially the presence of children, encouraged Dunning. May said it’s an opportunity to meet like-minded people. Tuesday is the 55th Earth Day. The holiday was established in 1970 to fight air pollution and was a political effort led by environmentally conscious legislators and activists. However, Saturday's event was about more than just removing garbage. “It’s awareness, and a feeling of ownership for our community,” Dunning said. “I know there are a lot of people who are disadvantaged. They don’t feel the community has done anything for them, and that’s why they don’t care and throw stuff out.” Where can most of the city's litter be found? According tot he Grimes family, Dunning and May, it's places like baseball and soccer fields, where people congregate. Damon Grimes said it’s the family’s first time going to a public cleanup. “We figured it would be nice to get involved, and for him to get involved at 5 years old,” Damon Grimes said. “We’ve been big on, since he was a baby, not littering.” May and Dunning say that people locally and writ large need to radically reduce the use of plastics. They supported a failed 2018 effort to get the City Council to ban single-use plastic bags. Events like Saturday’s cleanup, or a Green North Adams-hosted movie screening at the library in November, are necessary, Dunning argued, while acknowledging larger corporate and government forces outside of an individual’s control. “We’ve got to do grassroots, that’s the only way we’re going to change,” Dunning said. “We have to change people’s minds.”