THREE STEPS TO A CLEANER HUDSON

STEP 1:  PLAN

Get businesses to give you stuff for free or at a discount.  Many coordinators successfully enlist the help of businesses, service organizations and municipalities in their cleanups. Here are some examples:

WORK GLOVES/TRASH BAGS?   Hardware store, garden center, or supermarket
TRASH REMOVAL?   Municipality or government agency, waste management business, or property owner
REFRESHMENTS?    Grocery store or restaurant
RESTROOM FACILITIES?    Local business or sanitation company
PRIZES?   Local businesses
DUMPSTER?  Waste management business, service organization or local business.

See this sample solicitation letter for some proven language for getting businesses to make donations.

All successful cleanups end with proper trash disposal and recycling.  This MUST be arranged before your event.  Recycling all that you can is the ideal way to handle your trash.  Your local transfer station or waste management company will have a list of accepted recyclables that you can bring to your cleanup to guide your sorting efforts. Many waste management companies or municipalities waive or reduce fees for the disposal of trash from a volunteer community cleanup.

Be realistic about your cleanup's trash disposal needs and communicate them accurately to those handling pick-up. If you are planning to clean a large volume of trash, you may need to coordinate dumpster size and/or request additional trash bags.  If possible, schedule your cleanup to coincide with your trash disposal company's existing route schedule.  Follow-up calls and a 'thank you' help ensure proper and timely disposal.

No trash? Consider landscaping, park improvements or beautification projects.

STEP 2:  RECRUIT AND PUBLICIZE

Post flyers around your community.  Download this community cleanup poster (pdf, 143K) and fill it out with information about your cleanup. Make copies and distribute them in libraries, cafés, town halls and other public spaces in your community. Be sure to check with the owner or a clerk before posting in a place of business.

Press coverage can help recruit volunteers. If you're searching for volunteers to join your cleanup, use this sample news release to send a news release to your local daily or weekly newspaper.

Here are few tips to help you succeed:

1. Approach the media early -- ideally six to eight weeks in advance. This timeline also allows the option to call again four weeks ahead of your cleanup to ask that the paper run the announcement again.
2. Contact the right person. Weekly papers are easier because they typically have only one editor. For dailies, try the lifestyle section editor. You should be able to get a brief article or at least inclusion in a listing of area events. If you have some strong human interest elements for your cleanup, you might even get a more prominent and longer article. Human interest story angles can include things such as: interesting trash you're going to pick up (appliances, big pile of old tires, part of a beached sailboat, etc.), kids involved (scout members, school class, club, etc.), people with special challenges getting involved, people using kayaks/canoes for water cleanup, etc.)
3. Calling is important. After you send the release, make a follow-up phone call to ensure the release was received and to offer a 15-second pitch on why readers should care about this event. For the pitch, just say that you?re doing a community riverfront cleanup and offer a really quick indication of the community benefit. See how they react, and then offer any human interest angles you have (see above).
4. Don't forget radio and television. If you're feeling ambitious, call either the news department or the host of a particular show you think might be interested. You can send them the release if they're interested. For television, visuals are key, so stress elements of your cleanup that would make strong pictures.

E-mail can help recruit volunteers and ensure they show up. Use the power and ease of e-mail to market your cleanup to friends and family.  Put the first message out about eight weeks in advance.  Then use follow-up e-mails about once a week -- or every other week -- to keep those who've already volunteered connected to your event and increases the odds that they'll show up for the cleanup and be well prepared. The follow-up communications also keep promoting your event to those who haven't committed yet. Here are some ideas for e-mail content:

1. Update on how many people have signed up, highlighting interesting participants such as kids, community groups, etc. Share a few quotes from volunteers who've signed up.
2. Details of coverage in papers or on radio or television. Tell them when they can hear you on the radio about the event.
3. Listings of any donated supplies, along with thanks to the generous donors
4. A quick news story about the environment that could relate to the cleanup and highlight how the cleanup will make a difference. For example maybe there's an article about water quality, for which your tidying of the Hudson is a partial solution.

Remember, regular communication reminds volunteers that they've committed to you, your cleanup and the river. The effort also shows you're serious and committed yourself. Plus these pieces add fun and a sense of teamwork to the effort.

STEP 3: CLEAN UP

DIY Cleanup Guide sponsored by:










 

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Cleaning up a public park or accessing private property? Be sure to get permission from the park manager or the property owner well before your cleanup!

Do not organize a cleanup near fast-moving, dangerous water. If you use watercraft of any sort, always wear a personal flotation device (PFD).

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