On the International Coastal Cleanup Day we organized an event that brought the community together in a garbage collection action.
Although we had already done this kind of initiative internally in a voluntary and spontaneous way, this time we needed to communicate and organize it in a more specific way.
We dedicated a few hours to researching all kinds of information that would guide us to this event. Where we found the most complete information was in this document, yet we would like to summarize it in a simple and practical way so that any person or entity can find easy orientation here.
Plan
Choose a location, public or private (e.g. coastline, river and stream banks, urban area, agricultural fields, mountains.
Set a date: it can be on a special day, or not.
You have the support of a core group (some people in your network who guarantee the collection) - here you can create a list of participants.
Get permission with an email to the local government (municipality, port and marine police) and ask if the date and location are appropriate and if any additional permission is needed. Often municipalities have bags and gloves or other materials that they can make available for your event.
Security. It is important to determine at least two types of responsible parties at the event. A security person and a sharps person. These two people should ensure that no hazardous waste or any situation that is out of the ordinary is handled.
On the day of the event:
1. Create a checklist:
1. trash bags
2. first-aid kit
3. sharps container
Separate containers for types of waste (e.g. cigarette butts) 5.
5. participant list
6. waste monitoring sheet
2. Create a short presentation of the activity for the start of the collection with the goals for the day.
3. At the end, record together the collection items and create a moment that helps create awareness for this cause.
4. Share this data with a trash tracking app with the GPS coordinates of the location, number of volunteers, and an estimate of the area they cleaned and items collected.
This guide is created without specific technical knowledge. If you have questions, contact the parish council of the town where you plan to hold the event and ask for guidance.
Let's make something green together?