Vincent Yuen picks up trash while pulling his red cart.
Vincent Yuen. Photo by William Jenkins

They say the average time to run a 10k is about an hour. And, although Vincent Yuen took 14 hours to walk just a little over 10k, he filled more than 100 bags of trash along Mission Street during the clean-up day he called “On a Mission On Mission.”

For the longest day of the year, Yuen organized a trash cleanup with some 35 volunteers. He started at Sickles Avenue, just north of the Daly City border, and ended at The Embarcadero.

Yuen, who now picks up trash full-time under the volunteer cleanup effort Refuse Refuse, organizes cleanups across San Francisco every week.

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Intern Reporter. William moved to the Bay Area from Nashville to pursue a Masters in Journalism from UC Berkeley. He's covered police reform in Oakland and also investigates correctional officer misconduct at the Investigative Reporting Program. You'll mostly see him behind a camera. Follow him on Twitter @WilliamJenk_

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3 Comments

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  1. It is inspiring. North Beach Citizens also has a program whereby the homeless citizens are trained to pick up trash and work throughout North Beach. They receive a shopping card for their efforts. They are so dedicated and much appreciated.

  2. Thanks to Vince for organizing, William for reporting, and Mission Local for publishing this feat! I’ve got a new passion for trashin’ – eager to participate in another pick-up and help recruit more talent 🙂

  3. Oh dear, you got a typo up there. Vince “he dumped over 100 bags of trash along Mission Street “ ‘picked up’ might be more appropriate. But many thanks for publishing this for SF.