Clean a Public Charging Station - Pay it Forward

[Randy]

Here's an idea that I hope will catch on for others...

As I drive around taking photos and using public charging stations, I see that some of them are getting a little dusty, etc. So I thought, "Why not take some supplies and do a little cleanup on the stations while we're there? A little bit of paying it forward for the EV drivers that come and use the station..."

So, that's just what we did yesterday. My son and I visited the SDSU DC Fast Charging site here in San Diego...There was a lot of pine needles laying around the station and on the parking lot. In addition, there was a large number of rocks on the hillside that were left over from the construction efforts. And the station itself has quite a bit of dust and dirt on it...So Brandon did the sweeping, and I collected all the rocks, and we set out to start cleaning up the site....Then I brought some towels and cleaner and washed off the Blink Charge Dispenser unit as well. It looks a whole lot better now than it did when we arrived.

Total time on-site for cleaning: About 25 minutes (about the time for 1 quick charging session, which we didn't need yesterday)....We packed up all the needles, rocks, dirt, etc. into some bags I brought along, and took them home to put into the trash. About 50 pounds worth of stuff to get rid of...

If you like the idea, why not adopt it in your area and clean up a few public charging stations for the next user? A little kindness in this world goes a long way

Post your own photos and descriptions below about your own efforts in your area....

Randy


SDSU DC Fast Charger in San Diego...Plenty of pine needles, rocks, and dust/dirt...

Brandon set out to start sweeping up the dirt and pine needles...

Lots of rocks to gather up and transport away...Wouldn't want one of these to be used to vandalize the station...

Bags of debris, needles, and dirt...

Looking much better...

The DC Fast Charger "Charge Dispensing Unit"...Much better looking....

 

[davewill]

Here's something completely different...

As I drive around taking photos and using public charging stations, I see that some of them are getting a little dusty, etc. So I thought, "Why not take some supplies and do a little cleanup on the stations while we're there? A little bit of paying it forward for the EV drivers that come and use the station..." ...

Excellent idea. I can certainly put a pack of Lysol wipes in the car to do a quick clean on the handle, at the least.

 

[greengate]

Here's an idea that I hope will catch on for others...

As I drive around taking photos and using public charging stations, I see that some of them are getting a little dusty, etc. So I thought, "Why not take some supplies and do a little cleanup on the stations while we're there? A little bit of paying it forward for the EV drivers that come and use the station..."

So, that's just what we did yesterday. My son and I visited the SDSU DC Fast Charging site here in San Diego...There was a lot of pine needles laying around the station and on the parking lot. In addition, there was a large number of rocks on the hillside that were left over from the construction efforts. And the station itself has quite a bit of dust and dirt on it...So Brandon did the sweeping, and I collected all the rocks, and we set out to start cleaning up the site....Then I brought some towels and cleaner and washed off the Blink Charge Dispenser unit as well. It looks a whole lot better now than it did when we arrived.

Total time on-site for cleaning: About 25 minutes (about the time for 1 quick charging session, which we didn't need yesterday)....We packed up all the needles, rocks, dirt, etc. into some bags I brought along, and took them home to put into the trash. About 50 pounds worth of stuff to get rid of...

If you like the idea, why not adopt it in your area and clean up a few public charging stations for the next user? A little kindness in this world goes a long way



Post your own photos and descriptions below about your own efforts in your area....

Randy

Great Idea and act of service.

You can count on me to do the same here in IL.

 

[apvbguy]

please do not take this as me poo-pooing your civic mindedness but isn't there a maintenance staff at SDSU?
what are they doing if they aren't maintaining the grounds like they should be doing?

 

[Arvind]

Great idea, well executed!

 

[Randy]

please do not take this as me poo-pooing your civic mindedness but isn't there a maintenance staff at SDSU?
what are they doing if they aren't maintaining the grounds like they should be doing?

Sure, they could be cleaning up a little bit more...on that campus that is almost 300 acres in size...

But I like the Michael Jackson School of Thought...

If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place, Take A Look At Yourself, And Make That Change

 

[apvbguy]

please do not take this as me poo-pooing your civic mindedness but isn't there a maintenance staff at SDSU?
what are they doing if they aren't maintaining the grounds like they should be doing?

Sure, they could be cleaning up a little bit more...on that campus that is almost 300 acres in size...

But I like the Michael Jackson School of Thought...

If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place, Take A Look At Yourself, And Make That Change

if it were me, I'd give the place a cleaning and then find out why the area is not being properly maintained

 

[GeekEV]

I agree with the sentiment for free charging, but what about pay chargers? Isn't that part of what you're paying for?

 

[ksnogas2112]

Excellent. Kudos to you. And if the area around the EVSE is good, there's still likely wrappers and trash in the rest of the lot.

I'll start doing a police call around the library lot where I charge.

 

[Becky50]

I, too, think this is a great idea. I am going to carry gloves, wipes, and a trash bag so I can, at least, pick up some trash while I wait.

 

[DaveEV]

Nice work, Randy! Thank you for the community service - we need more people like you!

Wiping down stations should be easy and improve readability of the screens. And only take a second to do.

 

[RonDawg]

I absolutely cringe when I show up to a public charging station to see trash left behind, and/or the equipment being treated poorly such as charging cables not rolled up onto the holder (if provided), or worse the J1772 handle left on the ground as was the case at a Clipper Creek station I stopped at.

When I am done I always roll up the cord onto any provided holders, and put the charging handle in a holder or in a way where it won't get damaged. And I take any trash I generate with me, or I deposit it in a proper container nearby.

If we don't police ourselves at public charging ststions, we're just making things harder for ourselves in the form of broken equipment and us being banned from the property after certain hours , and/or property owners and managers being reluctant to provide charging stations.

 

[greengate]

There was a park near where I once lived and it wasn't maintained by any governmental body so it was being completely trashed with garbage and graffiti.

I took it upon myself the clean it up and after I did that, fewer and fewer items of trash were left behind until at one point it was "self cleaning." No one trashed it out of respect for it's cleanliness and beauty. It's like the factory broken window syndrome.

So that's the "good news" story.

Now for the "bad" news story.

I was in the Flordia Keys many years ago and I was picking up trash at a rest stop and putting it into the trunk of my car when a policeman approached and asked what I was doing. I explained, and he said it was the opposite..that I was dumping trash from the trunk of my car and "littering." So off to jail I went where I had to pay a $300 fine for "littering."

Despite the FL incident, I still come down on the side of cleaning up the area and if I have to, will pay another $300 fine!!

(I just haven't chosen to go back to FL!!)

 

[QueenBee]

I was in the Flordia Keys many years ago and I was picking up trash at a rest stop and putting it into the trunk of my car when a policeman approached and asked what I was doing. I explained, and he said it was the opposite..that I was dumping trash from the trunk of my car and "littering." So off to jail I went where I had to pay a $300 fine for "littering."

That's pretty evil, at least it makes for a good story Nice to hear I'm not the only one that enjoys picking up thrash, especially when doing something else like waiting for a car to charge or while walking.

 

[DaveEV]

That's pretty evil, at least it makes for a good story

No kidding!

Nice to hear I'm not the only one that enjoys picking up thrash, especially when doing something else like waiting for a car to charge or while walking.

I don't especially enjoy it, but I will do it.

This news article seems spot on in terms of the types of trash I typically find - makes me loath smokers especially:
Coastal Cleanup 2012: Top 10 Items Found During Trash Collection Program

 

[Dragon888]

Good idea.

 

[cdherman]

I laud the efforts here, but one suggestion/question for the OP:

You collected the pine needles into paper sacks. What did you do with them? Judging from the photos, it would have been easiest to just spread the pine needles back onto the areas behind and to the side of the station. They are nicely biodegradable, in fact forming a natural part of the leaf litter that pine trees desire under their canopy.

Please don't tell me they went in the trash, when such an easy ecological solution was at hand.......

 

[kubel]

Please don't tell me they went in the trash, when such an easy ecological solution was at hand.......

They went in the trash.

::cue dramatic music::

The most ecological solution would be to let the stations stay dirty.

 

[UBUYGAS]

Looks Great! Good for you for being Proactive and a Positive citizen!

Here in NJ/NYC we do not have Public stations yet, all our Charging Stations are Pay for use and located at Nissan Dealerships or privately owned parking decks. All that I've seen and used have been well taken care of. So I really can't do anything yet.

But If I see a dirty Charging station I carry with me some basic cleaning supplies and at least one garbage bag so I'll be able to contribute as well.

Thanks,

Lasareath

Looking much better...

The DC Fast Charger "Charge Dispensing Unit"...Much better looking....