Consult a tide chart as well; you can plan your clean up for when the tide is going out, giving you more ground to cover and trash to remove.
If you’re not sure who to contact about permits and permissions, call your local police station.
Check your permits to see how many volunteers are recommended and whether there’s a limit. Try to aim for at least 10 participants. Make a Facebook event so your volunteers can easily see event details and who else is going.
Some ocean conservation organizations offer cleanup flyer templates you can use and edit to fit your own needs. To save paper, you can email your flyer as an attachment to local businesses and institutions.
You might be able to throw your trash bags in nearby dumpsters, or your local government agency might agree to come pick them up for you.
If the beach is supervised by your local city government, ask if they have parking restrictions or recommendations. If you think your volunteers will have trouble parking, find alternative solutions. Walk around nearby neighborhoods and look for available street parking, or ask your volunteers to carpool or take public transportation. No matter what, communication with your volunteers is key so they know what to expect.
Recyclable, canvas, or burlap garbage bags Biodegradable protective gloves Sifters or rakes Trash sticks Sunscreen
Look for healthy snacks that won’t generate a lot of waste, like fruit or big bags of granola, crackers, or popcorn instead of individually-wrapped packets. If you don’t have the funds for food, specify that volunteers should bring along their own snacks. Make sure to bring extra bags for volunteers to throw away their food waste.
Tell volunteers not to in the water, but try to have someone on hand that’s been trained in EMT and lifeguarding skills just in case. You can also review what you should do in case of a health emergency, like heatstroke or a broken bone. You should also look over your site for safety hazards like rocks, changing tides, roads, and power lines.
They can also bring their own protective gloves, although you should have some on hand as well. It’s safe to assume that many of your volunteers won’t have their own pair.
Tell your volunteers exactly where you’ll meet them on the day of the clean up. If it’s not easy to find, you could even provide a map or an exact address.
If you have a few latecomers and need to move to another location, write a note on a sign to tell them where you’re going, or draw an arrow to show them where they can find you.
You’ll want their phone numbers in case you need to get in touch while at the clean up. It’s good to have their emails as well so you can send out follow-up messages after the clean up is over.
Plastic bags Bottles and cans Fishing gear Cigarettes Helium balloons
Syringes, needles, or medical vials Pieces of broken glass Electronics Batteries Tires Paint
For an added incentive, you can set up a table of snacks and refreshments at the meeting point for the volunteers to enjoy when they finish.
You can mark the recycling bags with a label, or get them in a different color.
Remember to grab any posters you put up in other areas as well.
Decide on a designated hashtag for your event, like #PacificBeachCleanUp2018. Invite your clean up team to post their own pictures with the hashtag so you can easily find them.
You can also include a few details from your beach cleanup, like how much trash you picked or the strangest piece of trash someone found.
