She was picking up bits and pieces of garbage that people had tossed aside (often out of the window of a car).

In our age, garbage is not nearly as environmentally friendly as it was in the centuries before us. Plastics, metals and vast quantities of material that do not readily break down make up our garbage. There are toxins that our forefathers never knew existed. We have reinvented the meaning of the word "garbage." Generally we hide it (or try to), and we avoid taking responsibility. The next generation can look after our mess—or can it?