After growing tired of seeing trash along the sides of roads in Paris, local tattoo artist Jamie Wong decided to challenge the community in a unique way—by offering free tattoos in exchange for picking up litter.
What he didn’t expect was just how quickly the community would respond.
Within just two days, more than 1,000 pounds of trash had been collected from streets across Paris.
“It might just be a Florida man thing, but we’re not accustomed to throwing our trash out of our moving car,” Wong said. “I wanted to lead by example and decided to offer a free tattoo for every two full bags of trash people picked up.”
Participants could stop by Jamie Wong Tattoos, grab a bag or bucket from outside the shop, sign up inside, and head out to collect trash. Volunteers were also given “ONE CAP BLACK” or “IGOBYWONG” stickers to mark the areas they cleaned.
“When you see a branded sticker, just know that it was put there by a human that cares about the environment—and most importantly your city,” Wong said.
The idea quickly gained traction. On the first day alone, volunteers collected over 300 pounds of trash.
By the end of 48 hours, the total had grown to more than 1,000 pounds removed from local streets.
“Thank you to everyone who’s helped out,” Wong said. “You’ve made a visible difference in our community.”
Although the initiative has been a success, Wong says the promotion can’t last forever.
Saturday will be the final day for residents to exchange trash bags for a free tattoo.
“As bad as I wish I could, I can’t give out free tattoos forever,” he said. “Saturday will be the last day to take me up on the offer of trading two bags of straight trash for a free tattoo.”
Buckets, bags, and trash grabbers are available at the shop, located at 1505 20th Street NE, Suite 200 in Paris, for anyone wanting to participate.
