BEFORE CLEANUP

Choose A Beach to Clean: The most essential part of a beach cleanup is the beach. Whether it’s the beach you frequent most often or another beach you have noticed that has a fair amount of trash, identify the location and set a site as the central meet-up point.

Make a plan: This step involves visiting the site in advance to scope the area. During this visit, make a plan for the cleanup’s borders, a central meeting place to check in and drop off trash, and where you will put your trash and recyclables.

Find Event Partners: Contact local businesses, other organizations, and communities to participate in the clean-up.

Find Volunteers: Talk to friends, families, and co-workers, and make a social media post to help recruit volunteers for the cleanup. It is helpful to create a Facebook event and have people sign up online to keep track of how many expected volunteers you will see on your cleanup day

DURING THE CLEANUP

Decide who is in charge

• The project team must identify 3-10 people to be the site coordinators and organizers of the event. Cleanup takes a lot of work on this person’s end, and it is best to have some people keep track of everything before, during, and after the cleanup. Site coordinators are assigned to coordinate teams on the day of the cleanup.
• Make sure the site coordinators know what their responsibilities are.
• A datasheet for data collection should be available.
• Always stay together by working in teams of at least two.
• Be cautious and aware of sensitive habitat areas (that is. Wildlife, dunes)
• An adult or guardian should supervise all children under the age of 14 at all times
• Make sure you take pictures and videos for publicity.
• The coordinator must have Gloves and tools such as wheelbarrows, shovels, and plastic bags.

AFTER CLEANUP

Analyze the result

• Document your work by taking photos before cleaning up and after beach cleanup
• Organize collected data and create reports, graphs, and images to be shared.
• Share your data on CleanSwell App and share it with Ocean Conservancy.

Share Your Event

• Take photos and share your event on social media to spread the word and give recognition to your hard-working volunteers.    
• Make sure the essentials for a beach cleanup are available. These include trash bags, spades, rakes, wheelbarrows, gloves, masks, hand sanitizer, water, and a first aid kit.
• Make a plan for gathering and disposing of trash. For recyclables, contact local recycling facilities to arrange for the acceptance of plastics and other waste found at the beach.