More than 19,000 volunteers participated in the Breaking Bad Habits campaign across New Mexico in 2025, removing over 10.5 million pounds of litter from local communities.
The initiative is a statewide litter prevention program inspired by the television series “Breaking Bad.” In total, 250 cleanup events were coordinated with 190 organizations, including Albuquerque and Santa Fe Citizens’ Councils, Imagine ABQ, Trash Pandas Community Cleanup, Santa Fe Public Schools and Clean and Beautiful, as well as Que Linda and RAID grantees.
“New Mexicans showed up — more than 19,000 volunteers rolled up their sleeves and cleaned up their communities,” said Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. “That’s what pride in our state looks like.”
A recent advertising campaign for the program featured characters known as the Salamanca Cousins urging residents to care for their environment. The campaign has been viewed nearly 25 million times and generated hundreds of thousands of online engagements.
Residents can take a pledge to keep New Mexico clean or report illegal dumping through the campaign’s website at breakingbadhabits.nm.gov.
“We’re not done yet,” Lujan Grisham said. “I’m calling on every New Mexican to take the pledge and join a cleanup event. Together, we can break the bad habit of littering for good.”
The Breaking Bad Habits program began in October 2024 under Governor Lujan Grisham’s leadership. Bryan Cranston reprised his role as Walter White in a public service announcement directed by Vince Gilligan. Participants are encouraged to use hashtags #BreakingBadHabits and #KeepLitterOut on social media to share their involvement.
The Office of the Governor of New Mexico operates from Santa Fe within the executive branch of state government and supports community initiatives such as this one (https://limpar.locallabs.com/organizations/e3c556e7-ebaa-41d6-93ef-87c8a64d0bd2). The office also facilitates public engagement through applications for boards and commissions while handling requests related to assistance, events, records and official declarations (https://www.governor.state.nm.us/). According to its official site, priorities include education advancement, economic development and community sustainability (https://www.governor.state.nm.us/).
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham leads these efforts alongside other state officials (https://www.governor.state.nm.us/), with programs supporting early childhood education, infrastructure improvements and food security among others (https://www.governor.state.nm.us/).
