From presidential honors to writing a comic book, Erick Wade has a passion to fight litter

Published on March 4, 2025

When it comes to understanding Erick Wade’s passion for fighting litter, where do you start?

Maybe you start with Wade receiving the President’s Volunteer Service Award the past three years, including the Gold-level award last year.

“On behalf of the American people, I extend my heartfelt appreciation to you for your volunteer leadership, and I encourage you to continue to answer the call to service,” the letter signed by former President Joe Biden said in conclusion. “The country is counting on you.”

Maybe you note that Wade received a commendation from Gov. Kay Ivey in January.

“Whereas, truly, Mr. Wade’s quest for a greater Huntsville reflects a heart of service,” the commendation stated. “He leads by example – one I am proud to recognize.”

Maybe you look at his sparkling area on Meridian Street that he cleans weekly as part of Green Team’s Adopt-A-Spot program. Or maybe you mention that to communicate his passion, Wade has written a comic book describing the fight against litter in Huntsville.

“Sometimes people ask me how I got into this,” Wade said. “I get a peace of mind out of it. I get exercise. It makes me feel good giving back.”

In fact, his Adopt-A-Spot sign once had his name on it. He asked for it to be changed and it now reads, “For those who can’t.”

“Because I get a lot of elderly people who come out and say, ‘Hey, thank you. We appreciate it. Bless you. If I could be out there with you, I would,’” Wade said. “So this is for those who would like to be out there. They can. I dedicate my time to them. It’s not about Erick Wade. It never was.”

For those who volunteer to Adopt-A-Spot for a year, Green Team asks for a minimum of six cleanups a year and once a month is preferable. Wade cleans his area once a week and has been doing it since 2015.

The comic book lifts Wade’s anti-litter passion to another level. He wrote the story and Huntsville’s Deno Conerly provided the illustrations of the “Huntsville Hero” fighting “litter villains.” The book incorporates Huntsville road names to make the story more relevant to its audience.

He’s working with Green Team’s Green Ambassador program to get the books in schools for students to reach and maybe capture some of Wade’s passion. He’s also got colorful t-shirts and hand-held toy “weapons” to conquer the “litter villains.”

“I just wanted to try and pull people into this in a creative way,” Wade said. “I came up with these shirts to try and make it look cool, to make people want to get involved.”

When you have this much passion, you want to share it with others.

“I’m doing the best I can with what I’ve got,” he said.

And that says a lot.