Cleanup events are one of the most powerful ways of spreading a positive message and being an actual Litter Hero. Whether an event is attended by 2 people or 200 people, the statement is clear: 

"We have a litter problem here, and together we can make this part of the world cleaner".

LitterHero clean up events are design for maximum positive impact and minimum hassle. We do this by limiting numbers to around 30 people max and scheduling at a time when people with children can also attend, usually Saturdays around 10:30 am.

Another powerful driver is that we like to keep our events very short! 30 minutes of clean up time is enough for even a small group to make a big impact and also keep people of all ages engaged and more importantly, increase the desire to clean up even more!

In a nutshell, here's the secret sauce:

1. Small groups
2. Family friendly scheduling
3. Limited duration

If you would like to host your own litter clean up events through a local #LitterHero group or on your own, here is a good article to help you get started.

Picking up a bag and litter picker to grab some trash off your street is a great feel good activity but to really spread the message, nothing beats a local litter clean up event. To make sure you make it a great occasion for all involved, here are 7 Keys for a Successful Cleanup event:

1) Be willing to do the activity alone, and enjoy it!

2) Post your event publicly or invite specific people. You can use the LitterHero events calendar to share your event. Make the time, place, duration and equipment required explicitly clear to everyone you tell about it.

3) INVITE people. Don’t coerce, try to sell it to them, or overly control their participation. When invited, most people will bring something to the clean up effort that really makes really work.

4) Keep it simple. Cleaning up trash is easy. All you need are garbage bags, places to put the trash, and gloves (rakes and shovels can’t hurt either!) Tell potential participants that these are the raw materials, but bring enough yourself to cover half-a-dozen people who come without .

5) Have fun doing it. After all, you and everyone else will be actively making the world a better place… really. MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE! (this is what inspires me, and probably you, and probably most people who do things like this).

6) Tell lots of people, including the press. Just call them up and tell them what, when, where you are doing what you are doing. Even if you wind up alone out there, you will still peak interest, and people may want to join you next time. Forward chunks of the press release to any news organizations you contact (having something written that can be “cut and pasted” can increase likelihood of publication).

finally–and probably most important–

7) Remind people and yourself that what you are doing matters by telling incidents and specifics about how it matters to you. Just the simple truth will inspire others. You can talk about what you have done to date, and the people you met along the way. 

Once people experience their own daily ability to make a difference, they will probably keep it up on their own - and maybe do even do a project in their neck of the woods…

If it is easy enough for you, bring some food treats for other participants as a surprise. Maybe cookies or little chocolates or something– cheap and easy is my motto on this. You can always go for coffee afterward if that works better too…

Source Litterproject.com