I went and collected trash in two areas of Newcastle I like. I continue to do so and in my own area too. I was originally inspired to start doing this by Survival lilly.
It's important now more than ever that people get involved in their local area, maintaining it's condition and preserving local environment, buildings, culture and traditions. Get involved in your local community and help to preserve and protect it.
From a prepping perspective it can also be a good undercover activity to do because when you are collecting trash you are invisible to most others because they don't want to interact or even look at those collecting the rubbish others discard. How many of your street cleaners do you talk to? You can regularly get out and get good first hand knowledge of local routes to help plan a Bug Out. You will also get additional exercise from this activity.
I personally find collecting trash very relaxing and a good time to think about many things.