BEFORE THE DATE
Choose a location. Ideas include a beach, riverbank or park.
Pick a date. Consider choosing an international celebration day, such as World Environment Day (5 June) or World Clean-up Day (a date in September each year).
Develop a core group. Recruit three or four motivated people to help you organise the event.
Get permission, if you need to. Tell the local government about your litter clean-up. They might even agree to provide equipment such as litter sacks.
Plan a safe event. Visit the clean-up location and plan the event there.
Connect with a litter monitoring group. This is optional, but your clean-up will be even more useful if you record the different types of litter you find. To reduce litter at its source, we need to know what it is and who is producing it. Then we can campaign for change. Find a national or international litter monitoring organisation and familiarise yourself with their recording requirements.
Welcome everybody, and explain the plans for the day.
Collect the litter! Take pictures as you go, with before and after photos to show the difference you make.
Sort the litter. Then leave it at the pick-up point to await collection, or transport it to the final location you have agreed with the authorities.
Debrief. Congratulate everyone and take a group photo.
Adapted from A Rocha International’s guide, How to organize a litter clean-up, available in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. Visit www.arocha.org/microplastics-toolbox and click on ‘Lifestyle’ to download a copy.
INSPIRING YOUNG PEOPLE Several years ago I started to feel very frustrated about the litter on the beaches in my town of Maputo, Mozambique. My church youth group and I planned a clean-up event for the most popular beach. So far, we have completed four clean-ups.
It was easy to get other partners involved. We have been working with our local government, who fortunately embrace the cause of taking care of the environment. Environmentalists in our network gave us advice, and a TV channel shared our story.
Around 50 people attended one of our recent clean-ups. We can see positive changes in the participants’ lives – in their daily routines and the way they behave towards the environment. Gradually, the wider community is starting to change, and we are seeing less littering on the beach. I think young people can inspire others to take action on the environment!
David Junior is the Youth Coordinator for the Green Anglicans in southern Africa.
Email: [email protected]
Adapted from FOOTSTEPS 107, a magazine from Tearfund Learn providing practical information to bring about positive change. See https://learn.tearfund.org/en/resources/publications/footsteps/footsteps_101-110/footsteps_107/
Prayer requests from our team at the INC4 talks in Ottawa, Canada
Children saw a way to stop their lake getting polluted - once they got organised. Jhumeliya Mishal from EFICOR tells the story.
Dr Tiwonge Gawa from Malawi Creation Care Network reports
