Cleaning Up
At The Start
What steps should your group make long before your first cleanup?
Before
It's minutes before your first cleanup. What should you and your team be preparing?
During
How can your members be as efficient as possible during the cleanup?
After
How should you properly handle the trash picked up, as well as yourself?
At The Start
Set Goals & Grow Your Passion
The first step to start your own cleanup group is to ask yourself why you want to start this project. As a leader you will have to take on big responsibilities and your team will need someone that reminds them why their work is so important for the community.
Whether you want to start this project because you have a deep love for nature, or because you want to build relationships and go out of your comfort zone, having a clear goal and purpose will keep you motivated in the long run.
Vision & Anti-Vision
Establishing a vision and an anti-vision will keep you on the right track throughout this wonderful journey. A vision statement describes the goals and the purpose of your group while your anti-vision tells you what you don’t want to come out of this project.
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Terra Tip 1: Remember that setting a lofty and bold vision will help broaden your ambition and focus your project!
Outreach in the Beginning
Organization is key: we suggest before promoting any events, establish a simple invitation form so you can easily have access to contacts, attendance information, or safety release forms such as our template!
Some of the most effective outreach starts in your inner circle. Inviting friends and family can be a wonderful way to spread information about upcoming cleanups.
While doing so, a social media account is an easy way to showcase your new project and all upcoming events! You should also consider establishing a method of contact for your group, so you can send out reminders about upcoming cleanup locations, dates, and times.
Terra Tip #2: Here’s some popular methods of contacts we use: text messaging, emailing, Remind, Google Classroom (for school clubs), Groupme.
Know Where to Work
Awareness is one of the most important skills you will need throughout this journey. As you go throughout your everyday routine, focus on paying attention to your surroundings and your community. You will undoubtedly discover littered areas in need of cleaning. Where do you think your community needs your help?
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Potential cleanup spots include:
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the beach
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a nearby park
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creeks
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parking lots
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downtown areas
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any other populated area in your city!
Terra Tip #3: Remember to ask the community about potential areas to give them a chance to get involved.
Before
Gather All Your Materials
It’s important to have the right equipment gathered before you start your cleanup to ensure that you and your team are being safe! We suggest that you use as many recyclable or reusable items as possible during your cleanups (such as reusable bags to hold trash or reusable gloves) in an effort to not produce more waste.
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To pick up trash, you can use your gloves, trash pickers, or a mix of the two! If you aren’t looking to buy any new materials, gardening gloves and trash bags work perfectly as well!
Pre-Cleanup Safety
There are certain things you must be aware of before beginning your cleanup to ensure the safety of your team. We suggest compiling these into a set of rules that you can remind the group of before each cleanup:
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Steer clear of glass shards or anything that appears sharp and/or dangerous. Although your reusable gloves and bags may be thick, it’s not worth the risk of infection or cutting yourself or others— better to be safe than sorry!
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Second, always be sure to wear a mask and gloves at ALL times to protect yourself. After all, trash is dirty and oftentimes toxic too.
Develop Cleanup: Mapping
Deciding on a route is a crucial step in planning your cleanup. We recommend that you print out a map (e.g. Google Maps) or save a picture on your phone and highlight the areas you wish to cover.
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It is important to keep in mind the length of the route if your cleanup starts and ends at a specific time and location. A familiar location such as a park or an area where people frequently gather can give you an idea of where to start picking up trash.
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During the cleanup, make sure to mark any hotspots- areas that are heavily filled with trash- that you find. That way, your team can know to revisit it in the future and see if it has a consistent trash problem.
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Terra Tip #4: Remember that under a time limit, it’s okay to not cover your entire route! Be sure to mark on your map where you were able to go.
During
Go in Multiple Groups
We recommend splitting your team into multiple groups so that more routes are covered. A typical group at a C3 cleanup consists of 2-5 people, but you can determine what’s best for your team depending on how many people are there, and how much ground you’d like to cover.
Follow The Routes
As stated above, you should try to have a map handy with the route you’d like to cover. Follow this route as best as you can, but if, for example, you see a nearby area off the route with a lot of trash, it’s best to clean it up. Make sure to take note of the alteration to your route, and mark that area as a hotspot.
Collecting Data & Waste Auditing
Counting and categorizing each piece of trash picked up is an important part of the cleanup process. By collecting data, you can create a waste audit, which is a deeper analysis of the trash you’ve picked up. Identifying the biggest pollutants in your community is essential in helping find solutions to manage them in the future.
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To learn more about waste auditing click here.
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Terra Tip #5: Remember the waste will be “personal” to your community, so make adjustments to the categories as you go.
After
Weigh The Collected Trash
Whether you plan on making a waste audit or not, weighing the trash collected at each cleanup is a significant way of building your group’s credibility. To do this, someone must bring a handheld weighing scale (luggage scale) and weigh each group’s trash bags by the end of the cleanup.
Sort Out Recyclables & Dispose Trash
After weighing, each group should look through their trash bag(s) and pull out all recyclable items. Simply ask them to leave these items next to the bags. A designated person who can assess whether the items are truly recyclable or not should go through these piles and verify.
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After this stage, trash should be disposed of in the nearest dumpster or public trash can. As for the recyclables, a designated person must gather them together and bring them to a public recycling bin, or even a nearby recycling center.
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Terra Tip #6: Not sure what’s recyclable and what’s not? Need to find out where your nearest recycling center is? Our recycling guide will be able to help you.
Post-Cleanup Safety
Be sure that you also remind your team of the importance of post cleanup care! Everyone needs to thoroughly sanitize their reusable bags and gloves after each cleanup (try hosing them off in the shower or in your backyard using soap and water and then throwing them in the washing machine). Upon arriving home, everyone should immediately wash their clothes and, of course, take a nice long shower as well!
Terra Tip #7: Remember to prevent potential injuries by explaining these safety rules.
Take Pictures To Help Promote Your Cleanups
After each cleanup, consider taking group pictures and pictures of each team with their trash. These will be great for promoting your organization on social media and see the growth of your group as more and more people join your cleanups.
Terra Tip #8: If you plan to build a website for your organization, it would also be beneficial to take action-shots during cleanups. Both photos and videos will make for great backgrounds to personalize the website.
