Before the season of sun and fun is in full swing, why not spend a gorgeous springtime weekend getting your favorite beach ready for summer? There's no need to wait for International Beach Cleanup Day--which is September 17th--to get your shoreline in tiptop shape. It might sound like a whole load of work outside your capabilities, but hosting a cleanup is actually pretty simple.
Each year, beach and ocean trash present a serious problem to the biological health of our coasts. Not only does the litter make the land unattractive, but fish, animals, and plant life in the tides can be fatally endangered by waste. While you may not be able to host your own animal rescue, you can definitely make a major impact on how much garbage finds it's way into the waters in the first place by following our easy guide to tackling the trash.
Step One: Identify the beach or state park you want to clean!
Unlike other social activities, you don't need a permit or reservation to host a beach clean-up. Simply identify which part of the coastline you'd like to take care of--keep in mind your local park systems may have different regulations, so check with the park officials to make sure you don't need to do anything special beforehand. Keep in mind that on busy weekends parking can be limited, so pick a time and location where you and your crew can easily get to work.
Step Two: Send out invites!
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are awesome ways to connect with your community and build a trash-tackling team. Invite your friends, family, and neighbors to participate, and use an event planning app such as Evites, Facebook, or Eventful to keep track of attendees. Let your guests know they can bring friends, and encourage everyone to bring some snacks, drinks, or food to grill after the clean-up. After all, you're already at the beach, might as well turn it into a party! Remind your guests to bring any clean-up supplies you might need, which leads us to...
Step Three: Gather your supplies!
Depending on the severity of the mess, you'll want to bring a good amount of compostable bio-degradable trash bags, gloves, scissors, mechanical pick-up devices, a recycling container, water, and plenty of sunblock. If there is a risk for biological waste or drug paraphernalia, be sure to wear close toed shoes and instruct children not to pick up any needles. As well, depending on your local flora and fauna, some potentially dangerous animals, such as the toxic blue-ringed octopus, can live in shoreline trash and present a health hazard to humans. Exercise caution when picking up any containers with holes in them to make sure you're not intruding on anything dangerous. And on that note, be sure to grab a first-aide kit, just in case anyone does get hurt.
If you're low on funds, ask local grocery stores, big box stores, or food banks if they can donate cleaning supplies. Most local libraries have tool lending libraries where you might be able to get some helpful items. Swap sites like Craigslist and LetGo should not be overlooked, as people are frequently giving away leftover household items.
Step Four: Rally the troops!
Have everyone meet at the agreed upon time and place. Begin your cleanup by dividing up the section of beach, including the parking lot, and pairing people up in teams. This is a good way to make new friends or reconnect with people you haven't seen for awhile, so have fun with it! Make three playlists of beach-themed songs that last one hour, and at the end of every playlist have everyone take a break together. When all three are done, the beach should be in good shape and you should be ready to party!
Make sure to have information on hand for closest restrooms, dumpsters, recycling disposal, and park rangers. Take a few minutes before the cleanup starts to update everyone on the plan for the day as well as resources, then get going.
Step Five: Educate, educate, educate
If you see people hanging out, invite them to join your group or at least let them know what you're doing. Environmental protection shouldn't fall on any one person's shoulders, and if they're out enjoying the waves, chances are they might be interested in helping keep them clean. Even if people aren't there to join you, take pictures of the event and live Tweet or Instagram it--not only will this be a fun way of documenting your day, but you will set a great example to other people and perhaps inspire them to host their own beach cleanup. Do a blog post talking about how you approached the event and share your resources!
Step Six: Do it again!
By now you're a total pro at this thing, so schedule another cleanup later in the summer or get in touch with a local environmental group to be part of their cleanups.
See? Doesn't that seem a lot easier and more fun than you might've thought? Are you ready to get out there and keep the coast clean? If so, let us know in the comments of any helpful hints or suggestions you might have.
