He set out to lose weight. Now he’s cleaning up Oklahoma, one walk at a time
Dusty Stillwell, an Oklahoma man, has lost more than 120 pounds in eight months by walking daily and picking up trash, cleaning more than 15 sites and sharing his progress online
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Updated: 10:15 PM CDT Aug 16, 2026Editorial Standards ⓘ
Tyler Tripodi
Reporter
He set out to lose weight. Now he’s cleaning up Oklahoma, one walk at a time
Dusty Stillwell, an Oklahoma man, has lost more than 120 pounds in eight months by walking daily and picking up trash, cleaning more than 15 sites and sharing his progress online
Updated: 10:15 PM CDT Aug 16, 2026Editorial Standards ⓘ
Tyler Tripodi
Reporter
OKLAHOMA CITY —
Dusty Stillwell, an Oklahoma man, has combined his weight-loss journey with cleaning up his community by picking up trash during his daily walks
In less than a year, he has lost more than 100 pounds. But the mission also has a bigger purpose
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“I started around 520, and last week I weighed 395. So, you know, around 120-ish,” Stillwell said
Eight months into his journey, Stillwell said he is focused on self-improvement
“I’m trying to be a better human than I was last year,” he said
While walking daily, Stillwell felt something was missing
“Two months ago, it hit me,” he said. “I’m getting addicted to picking up trash.”
Since starting this effort two months ago, Stillwell said he has cleaned up more than 15 sites and packed out dozens of bags of trash. He shares his progress on his social media page
“It makes me feel good. I like it. I like tying in the social media aspect of it,” Stillwell said
Many of the sites he cleans are recommended by his online community. His trash-picking habit has also become a family activity
“We went to a park last week with both my girls, and that’s when I was picking up trash for my daughters,” he said
Stillwell said picking up trash may seem insignificant, but small actions can lead to bigger changes
“I know life can be tough, but if you start focusing on these little things, then it’s going to bloom into other things,” he said
Stillwell said cleaning up trash has become therapeutic for him, and he has no plans to stop anytime soon
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