The ‘Plan It: Be’ Community Cleanup

Litter and tipping are blights on our communities and wild spaces. Rubbish harms water and soil, can be fatal to wildlife, and is demoralizing to live in the midst of. Help us turn this dirty tide! We’re a small group now, but we want to grow – and we need all the hands we can get.

When we respond to litter and tipping, it can be frustrating to feel that we’re just moving rubbish from one place to another (as from streets, parks, or woodlands, into overflowing landfills). So ‘Plan It: Be’ does its best to sort recyclables – especially objects like batteries, vapes, bottles, and cans. If we find large tipped items we try to keep those together with the rubbish to be collected, and then alert the council in the event that a special vehicle may be need for collections. And, sometimes, what we find can be fascinating, so I reward a prize for the strangest, weirdest, or most interesting piece of rubbish found on the day!

Based in Derry, our group typically meets first in a ‘centralized’ location; one easy to get to by bus, bike, or walking. This year (2025) we’re scheduling cleanups every two weeks, on Sundays, meeting at 11am. We’re out for about 2 hrs, but you are free to come when you can and leave when you need to.

Please follow Zero Waste NW’s ‘Events’ on Facebook for each Sunday’s specific meeting place and cleanup area: link here

If we add additional days between Sundays, we will also advertise them on the FB page. Any updates re: the cleanup (for example, cancelling due to weather) will also be found there.

What To Know Before You Go:

• We aim to provide pickers and ‘work’ gloves, but as we can’t always predict the number of attendees, if you have your own pickers and work gloves, do bring them. Gloves are required for everyone (adults and children)! Feel free to wear a hi-vis vest as well, if you have one. (NB: We do not clean up animal poo, but again: wearing gloves is still a must.)
  • We can’t give out the ZWNW pickers for people to keep, so please make sure we get ours back, and put your name on your picker, if you bring your own.
• I will go over safety rules before each cleanup, and I do carry a basic first aid kit for the group, when we’re out.
• It’s a good idea to wear waterproof jackets and shoes, as some areas we work in may be muddy, and also to wear loose, comfortable clothing.
• Our cleanups are family-friendly and suitable for young environmentalists, unless otherwise stated.
• We’re an open, friendly, and inclusive group: All are welcome!
• Neither ZWNW, nor myself, can be responsible for your personal items during a cleanup, so use your own discretion as to what you bring with you and where you leave your personal belongings while we’re out.
• Our cleanups take place in public, shared spaces, unless we are given express and written permission in advance to undertake a cleanup elsewhere (for example, on private property).
• We like to take photos of our excursions for use on our social media websites, so please let me know in advance if you do not want to be photographed. I will make this announce before each cleanup.
• When possible, we like to have a tea and a chat after our picks 😊
• Contact me, Christine, with any question you have, at: email_Christine

We also love collaboration, outreach, and feedback! Are you desperate to get an area near you free of trash? Why do you think individuals litter/tip? What can we do will all the rubbish we find – make art? create an educational installation? Should we keep records of what we’re finding? Would you like to help organize cleanup ‘field trips’ to locations outside of Derry? Let’s do it. Bring your great ideas with you.

I like us to think of us not as ‘litter-pickers’, but as: Concerned citizens. Active and productive members of our communities. Restorers, beautifiers. Allies of our one and only Planet Earth, using our hands in service of those who don’t have them. We work to keep our neighbourhoods, waters, woods, and soil clean and healthy as acts of compassion and outreach. We hope that our presence inspires other to join us, to create their own cleanup groups, and to think more deeply about the impacts of our actions (the good, the bad, and the ugly).

Join us every-other Sunday, and we’ll be the thoughtful change in our world together, one discarded bit at a time.

Christine