San Diego Inventor Develops New Litter Cleanup Tools for Hikers - Times of San Diego

Inventor John McShane and his San Diego-based startup, CleanTrek, are launching unique products for hikers who want to keep trails litter-free.

CleanTrek’s lightweight, low-profile attachments can transform standard trekking poles into litter collection tools, empowering hikers to clean nature without interrupting their hike. CleanTrek aims to launch its first batch of products in early 2025 via a Kickstarter campaign.

If you’re hitting the trails for National Take a Hike Day on Sunday, Nov. 17, there’s a good chance you’ll encounter litter. The question is: will you pick it up?

Founder McShane faced this dilemma every time he went hiking. While he hated seeing litter, he often found himself too reluctant to stop, bend over, and touch it, and there was almost never a good place to put it. He wondered how many hikers must walk past the exact same piece of litter and choose to ignore it.

He started his business, CleanTrek, because he realized there weren’t any tools on the market that enabled hikers to pick up litter without impeding their hiking experience. He’s determined that if litter cleanup was more convenient, more people would do it. He had his lightbulb moment back in 2021 while hiking at Yosemite National Park.

“As I poked a snotty tissue with my trekking pole, I realized I was already 90% of the way to picking it up. That’s when I had the idea that an attachment could convert any trekking pole into a grabbing tool. And since many hikers already use poles, it would hardly impact their hike,” McShane said.

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From this idea, he invented two patent-pending products – the Grabber and the Collector – which retrofit to most trekking poles. The Grabber includes a rotating arm that contacts the end of your trekking pole, creating a pinching effect that grabs litter. The Collector consists of a collapsible pouch that expands open for loading in the trash but remains tucked away while hiking. Both the Grabber and Collector are operated by a trigger located near your pole’s handle.

CleanTrek is driven by the urgent litter problem affecting the US and the world. In 2020, an estimated 49.6 billion pieces of litter polluted US waterways and roadways. [1] Though this issue may seem overwhelming, John highlights that 88% of the litter is 4 inches or less, and all of it could be eliminated if each US resident picked up just 152 pieces. [1] Therefore, picking up even just a few small pieces of litter each hike can make a substantial impact! CleanTrek’s mission is to make litter cleanup convenient and enjoyable, encouraging everyone to contribute, one piece at a time.

“Litter’s a gradual problem that’s accumulated into a huge one. A plastic wrapper might fall out of someone’s pocket, or a gust of wind might fling a napkin off a picnic table. And since litter is gradual at its source, I think our solution should be gradual too,” he said.

While CleanTrek’s products are currently in the prototype stage, he aims to make them available for purchase for the first time through a Kickstarter campaign in early 2025. He invites people to join CleanTrek’s Interest List to provide feedback and help him measure market potential.

For more information about CleanTrek and its mission, visit their website at www.clean-trek.com.

References[1] Keep America Beautiful. (2021, May). Keep America Beautiful 2020 National Litter Study Summary Report.

Thanks for your time,–

John McShaneInventor and Founder of CleanTrek

www.clean-trek.com

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