Litter collector Nathan Noll was scanning for trash in Lansing, Michigan, when he spotted something fluttering on the ground by his feet. As he looked down, he noticed it was a hummingbird that had fallen on its back. Noll flipped it over and noticed that it couldn’t fly. It was too weak. So, Noll took to rescuing the bird, caring for it and giving it sugar water to drink. Even still, the little bird’s wings refused to take off. Noll decided to take it to a rescue organization to care for the animal, and the hummingbird made a speedy recovery.
This is just one example of a good outcome that can happen from picking up litter.
Noll has been picking up litter since childhood. He grew up in Goodrich, Michigan, and attended Goodrich High School. He earned his bachelor’s degree in geology and earth science from Grand Valley State University, where he was a member of the Student Environmental Coalition. Noll then earned his master’s degree from the biology department at ETSU in 2013.
Today, Noll works as an environmental quality specialist in the Water Resources Division within the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.
Most notably, Noll is recognized as one of the world’s top litter collectors.
“In 2025, I had one of my coworkers mention a challenge that was created within the Litterati app by Michigan State University. And so I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll have to check that out.’ And I’d actually already been picking up litter throughout that month … by the end of the year I had picked up over 20,000 pieces. Just between the last week of April and the last day of the year,” Noll said.
The Litterati app tracks how much litter a user has picked up, its location and the type of litter. The data is used for litter research and advocacy. Michigan State University started the challenge within the app to encourage litter collection, and Noll and his coworkers quickly climbed to the top.
The total amount of litter Noll has picked up and recorded in Litterati since the last week of April 2025 is always increasing, but it most recently sits at 43,677. Noll has used the Litterati app in at least six states for litter collections.
Someone who motivated Noll is Lou Kaphengst, his grandfather’s friend. Kaphengst planted more than 1.5 million trees during his lifetime.
“That was a really big inspiration to me, and it makes me want to do as much as I can and not go halfway,” Noll said.
Noll also receives a lot of encouragement from his coworkers, who pick up litter alongside him. Brian Grochowski, one of his coworkers, has collected a lot of litter in Lansing alongside Noll.
“We both encourage each other a lot, and he’s noted that the amount of litter that he’s picked up over time has increased since we started becoming friends and watching each other on the app,” Noll said.
To Noll, taking care of the environment is an important duty that humans cannot overlook.
“I think there are a lot of reasons it’s important. At the large scale, litter can be harmful to wildlife. Sometimes they get caught in it or ingest large pieces. But microplastics are definitely a big force that makes me really want to push as hard as I can to reduce litter in the environment, especially plastic litter. Microplastics are found in the deepest part of the ocean. They’re found in the highest mountain peaks,” he said.” Almost everyone has had microplastics detected in their blood, and they can cross the blood-brain barrier and get inside your brain tissue. There are a lot of health impacts that continue to show up as research is done on microplastics.”
Many students don’t know where to start when it comes to being more environmentally conscious.
Noll says, “I would say think about what matters to you, what you enjoy in nature or what you want to preserve. It may include what your worries are for yourself, for your kids’ future or your future grandkids. Use that as a basis for where you want to make change.”
