Picking Up America follows four idealist young people who hope to promote a transition to a zero-waste America by traveling across the country picking up roadside trash. The members of Pick Up America began their nationwide trek in Maryland in March of 2010 and University of Notre Dame student filmmakers, Michael Burke and Marie Wicht, tagged along for a portion of the pick-up through southern Ohio in October of 2010. By spreading their lessons of waste and consumerism through outreach and by example, Picking Up America hopes to aid in these idealists' hopes for a more sustainable America.