The Retroist

The Retroist

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
Star Trek the Animated Series wants you to Keep America Beautiful
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
User's avatar
Discover more from The Retroist
A Retro Podcast, Blog, and Newsletter.
Over 3,000 subscribers
Already have an account? Sign in

Star Trek the Animated Series wants you to Keep America Beautiful

Retroist's avatar
Retroist
Jan 12, 2016
1

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
Star Trek the Animated Series wants you to Keep America Beautiful
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share

In the not too distant past, litter was a real problem. I am not talking about the problem we have now with litter, but comically serious. People would toss stuff from moving cars, into oceans and rivers, you name it. Then in the 1960s and 1970s, a lot of effort went into trying to change people’s attitudes on littering and dumping. It was a good battle to fight and for the most part, it has been successful (it just took a while).

In the Seventies, which was a golden age for anti-littering PSAs, they created this amazing one using the talented people behind the Animated Star Trek Series. When I worked in a video store, and we sold and rented copies of this series, several hardcore fans would come in and talk of memories of these PSAs and their sadness at them not being released on VHS.

It took a few decades, but thanks to the internet, many things from the past have surfaced, including this very memorable anti-littering PSA from the Keep American Beautiful campaign. It is a brilliant example of some of the pioneering efforts that the studio, Filmation, put into animated PSAs.

Watch the Star Trek PSA

Now you will never look at the Rhombian Pollution Belt the same way again.

Star Trek PSA

Subscribe to The Retroist

Launched 4 years ago
A Retro Podcast, Blog, and Newsletter.
1

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
Star Trek the Animated Series wants you to Keep America Beautiful
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share

Discussion about this post

User's avatar
The Mystery Of The Red Quarters…Solved!
Did you ever find a quarter painted red and wonder if that red served a purpose? It does.
Feb 11, 2017 â€¢ 
Retroist
45

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
The Mystery Of The Red Quarters…Solved!
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
6
Remember when Mickey Mouse decided to commit suicide?
Unless you lived in the 1930s or are a fan of vintage comic strips you might not be aware of the attempted Mickey Mouse suicide.
Aug 30, 2017 â€¢ 
Retroist
9

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
Remember when Mickey Mouse decided to commit suicide?
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Monkey’s Blood (Mercurochrome) for those boo-boos
Remember when you were a kid, and you would were out roughhousing with your friends.
Oct 23, 2019 â€¢ 
Retroist
4

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
Monkey’s Blood (Mercurochrome) for those boo-boos
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
2

Ready for more?

© 2025 Retroist
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

Create your profile

User's avatar

Only paid subscribers can comment on this post

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in

Check your email

For your security, we need to re-authenticate you.

Click the link we sent to , or click here to sign in.