Organize a Clean Up
Interested in organizing your own clean-up? Keep Duluth Clean wants to support you! Read through our tips and tricks below. If you’d like to schedule a time to talk with Keep Duluth Clean about your clean-up and the questions below, just email us at keepduluthclean@gmail.com. We’d love to talk to you and share ideas of how to make your clean-up a success! Here are six tips and tricks to organize a clean-up!
1. Define your clean-up team!
Who do you want to participate in the clean-up? Are you part of a community group or business that you want to organize? Do you want to open it up to the broader community? How many people will you want to recruit?
2. Pick a location!
Where do you want to clean? Some locations can be more challenging (like Skyline Parkway) while others can be a little more relaxing (like Park Point Beach). But clean-ups can really happen anywhere! Depending on your location, you may need to get permission from the City of Duluth.
IMPORTANT: If you want to clean a park or on public land, you’ll want to fill out this form, managed by the City of Duluth’s Parks and Recreation Division.
3. Gather necessary supplies!
You’ll want to think through the supplies you’ll need for your clean-up, like garbage bags and gloves. You can request supplies through Parks and Recreation if you are cleaning up a park space. Keep Duluth Clean also may have supplies available - just email us to learn more at keepduluthclean@gmail.com. We encourage all clean-ups to have a plan for sharps. Unfortunately, needles are a common find in community clean-ups. If you find a needle, they should be kept separate from the collected garbage, placed in a hard plastic container and recycled at a sharps collection site. You are also welcome to call the Sharps Hotline at 218-730-4001.
4. Come up with a garbage disposal plan!
What are you going to do with your collected garbage? Can you dispose of it in your trash receptacle? Bring it to the MRC or Demolicious? Do you need help coming up with a plan? Again, depending on where you are cleaning, resources might be available! Parks and Recreation can (with prior approval) pick up litter collected from park sites. Keep Duluth Clean is also working with a local Twin Ports hauler and we may be able to help as well. Do not fill public garbage cans with collected trash! Place full bags alongside a public garbage can. If you overwhelm the garbage can, it just creates more litter!
5. Be safe!
Clean-ups have some risks - like uneven terrain, needles, large items, lots of bending and more. Please be careful and train all volunteers on the following safety precautions:
Stay hydrated, warm, and dry.
When on or near a roadway, whenever possible face the on-coming traffic.
Do not cross in front of traffic. Stay alert.
Avoid movements that will distract passing drivers or other volunteers.
Do not wear headsets that could prevent you from hearing others or distracting you from other hazards.
Look all around you! Most trash gets blown around and ends up in rock and crevices or under trees and shrubs.
Do not attempt to retrieve items that may risk injury.
Do not overexert yourself.
Do not empty liquid out of closed bottles. Throw away bottles with liquid inside.
If you find hypodermic needles, please handle them carefully (if comfortable), keep them separate from your trash and dispose of them at a designated collection site.
You are also encouraged to not pick up any of the following items. You can report items and locations in the Keep Duluth Clean Litter Report.
Medical waste
Hazardous wastes including motor oil, gasoline, batteries
Chemical containers or plastic bottles that smell or appear to contain noxious materials
Dead animals
Sharp items (broken glass may be swept up with a broom/pan or picked up with a litter grabber)
Unusual, unidentifiable items
Appliances, televisions, furniture, or other large items that cannot be bagged or moved
Items and personal belongings from homeless encampments
6. Share your impact!
Please let Keep Duluth Clean know about your clean-up! You can tag us on social at #keepduluthclean!