1. Choose a location

You probably already have a good idea of where you’d like to run your clean-up. It’s always best to do a good walk-through of the site before the clean-up day. Tip: do this during the same tide as you plan your clean-up. Consider:

Accessibility. How do you gain access to, from and around the beach? Should you gain permission from or notify any landowners or local authorities? Consider the varying abilities of the people attending. Where are the best options for parking? Are there any public toilets nearby?

Rubbish. How much litter is present, and where is it concentrated? This can save you a lot of time to know ahead of your planned clean-up day. How will you remove the rubbish once you’ve collected it? Where will you dispose of it?

Hazards. Identify hazards that are present at the clean-up site and what you are going to do to mitigate risks to keep your volunteers safe. More on health and safety below.

2. Save the date!

Pick a preferred date and time. Make sure you check the tides — very few places make for good clean-up sites at high tide, so aim for a day with a low tide around the time of your clean-up.

3. Find volunteers

Want to spread the word and make an event of it? Create a Facebook event, posters, talk about it on social media! It is always a good idea to get your volunteers to sign in when they arrive. This is most useful for determining how many people came to the event and also for making sure everyone returned from the beach.

4. Be a Health & Safety hero

Nobody wants to get into trouble at the beach. Here’s what we recommend to ensure everyone leaves your event happy and healthy.

• We highly recommend wearing gloves, closed-toe shoes and sun-smart and/or rain-proof clothing.
• Deliver a health and safety briefing to all clean-up volunteers, so that safety is front of mind. You can find the Sustainable Coastlines health and safety briefing here. It can help guide you with what to look out for at your own clean-up, but it is not a substitute for a health and safety plan.
  

5. Bye bye, litter!

Head out for your clean-up and have a good time! Bring your rubbish back to your pre-determined spot and dispose of it in the bin or at a local refuse station. Don’t forget to get some photos and celebrate your collective effort!

• Talk about what you found — was it mostly plastic? Are any of the items ones that you use in your daily life? Who knows, your discussion could lead to your participants making more eco-friendly choices in their daily lives.
• Reward your participants! Play some beach games, share some kai, and be sure to thank everyone for coming —a thank you goes a long way.
• We would love to see your efforts and acknowledge them on social media, so make sure to tag our account @sustainablecoastlines on Facebook or Instagram.