CleanUp Overview
Rotary District 7030 – Beach Clean-Up Competition
Every September, during Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), hundreds of thousands of volunteers comb lakes, rivers and beaches all over the world, collecting and disposing of trash. Over the last thirty years, more than 9 million volunteers have collected 165 million pounds of trash. This year, the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic has restricted the ability for volunteers to gather for large-scale clean-up activities, and as a result, Ocean Conservancy is encouraging smaller, more frequent, activities, on an ongoing basis.
With this in mind, the District Environmental Sustainability Committee takes this opportunity to call upon member countries to organise clean-up activities in their communities, bringing Rotarians, Rotaractors, Interactors and EarlyActors together, along with family members, friends, and corporate partners, in a bid to claim the title of District 7030’s Cleanest Country.
Why Clean-Ups?
The power of a clean-up activity is enormous. Clean-ups bring people together, raise awareness, create a common goal, and provide visible, immediate results. They not only make an area safer and more attractive, but they also highlight the magnitude of the waste problem, inspiring us to demand better management of the entire lifecycle of what we consume.
How Will It Work?
Clubs are encouraged to plan regular clean-up activities in their communities as follows:
- Identify a target area that is in particular need of cleaning up
- Set a date
- Invite partners – all members of the Rotary family, as well as their friends and family
- Liaise with local business and media to enlist further support and raise awareness
- Record the volume and type of trash collected using the Clean Swell app
- Dispose of the trash collected appropriately
The competition is not limited to beaches. Rivers, forests, parks, and roadsides also offer numerous clean-up possibilities. Clubs may also consider donating and installing Rotary-branded litter bins in high traffic areas, logging the volume of waste via the Clean Swell app at the point of collection. Another option is to partner with local businesses to sponsor a stretch of highway, keeping it free of waste and beautifying it through landscaping.
Throughout the duration of the competition, Clubs are encouraged to share photos and results from their clean-up activities on social media, using the hashtag #7030cleanup. Once underway, we will create a here on the website to showcase photos and track progress via a leaderboard. Prior to the end of the Rotary year, all data submitted via the Clean Swell app will be collated, and a determination made as to the country that has collected the most trash per capita.