Litter really bugs Anthony “Spark Plug” Thomas.
It gets under his skin so much that he’s made it his mission to keep three miles of highway next to his Fayette County neighborhood litter-free. And he’s been doing it once or twice a week for over 20 years.
Thomas turns heads on Georgia Highway 92 South, fighting litter in his fluorescent jacket, hat and gloves, armed with his trusty pick-up stick and a 42-gallon trash bag.
His efforts don’t go unnoticed. “You’re that guy,” locals often say when they see him at the grocery store and recognize him as the highway’s glowing guardian.
Earlier this year, Dan Cathy, the billionaire CEO of Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, pulled his car over to thank Thomas for his work for the community. Cathy followed up with a note that Thomas treasures. In part, it reads, “You’re my inspiration, Spark Plug. Your unwavering commitment to maintaining the charm of Fayetteville is truly commendable and has not gone unnoticed.”
Credit: Courtesy of Spark Plug Thomas of Fayette County
Credit: Courtesy of Spark Plug Thomas of Fayette County
Thomas says he’s had a thing about litter since first grade. His class viewed an anti-littering video that resonated with him. “I thought, I didn’t want to be a litterbug,” he said. “That stuck with me all my life.”
He had an experience at age 12 that only reinforced his stance. The manager of the apartment complex where he lived with his single mother, brother and sister hired him and another boy to pick up litter in the complex – down to the cigarette butts. Thomas said that started him thinking: What about the deer and other wildlife that might be hungry enough to try eating a cigarette butt or a Snickers wrapper?
The former Navy veteran and motivational speaker, known professionally as Spark Plug – a nickname one of his early bosses tagged him with because of his enthusiasm and energy – isn’t just concerned about protecting his subdivision or his property values. While his anti-littering campaign started in his neighborhood, it long ago expanded to the primarily residential stretch of Highway 92 South.
“If I can do something to make something more beautiful, then why not?” he said.
Thomas is not above calling a business in his community and gently letting the people in charge know they have litter on their property. If the litter isn’t gone in a day or two, Thomas will pick it up himself.
Others who Thomas has contacted aren’t so indifferent.
Once, he called a company, and the man on the other end of the phone line sounded shocked that there was trash on his property. “He put me on hold and ran out and got it,” said Thomas, a resident of Fayette County since 1996.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
His one-man campaign against littering seems to be in keeping with other aspects of his life.
As a motivational speaker, he encourages people “to live the legacy they want to leave.”
“If you want to leave a legacy of kindness, then be kind,” Thomas said. “If you want a legacy as someone who was there for people, then be there for people.”
He closes his in-state motivational speeches by asking the audience to “please join me in making Georgia litter-free.”
Thomas says he also never forgets the slightest kindness, even if it’s just a helpful clerk at the grocery store, hardware store, or Georgia Power.
“I am a grateful person,” Thomas said.
He estimates that he has sent 10,000 thank-you notes in the past seven or eight years. Pre-pandemic, he says, he was averaging 10 a day, 50 a week, 200 a month.
As for the litter in his community, Thomas says: “At least I can say I’m doing my part.
“Litter is all over Georgia,” he said. “Wouldn’t it be great if we could come together and make it litter-free?”
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