We Hit the
3 Million Mark!
A big thank you to our Clean Earth Challenge volunteers for helping us collect 3 million pieces of trash.
Join the movement and take the Clean Earth Challenge! It’s as simple as picking up trash on your morning walk, at your favorite beach or local park. Or you can join with friends, family, neighbors, classmates and co-workers in a community effort to help make our planet a healthier, happier place.
Participants have collected over 3 million pieces of trash and debris that litter our beautiful land, oceans and waterways! This pollution has a devastating effect on the health of our ecosystems, wildlife and the planet.
Help the planet and join millions of others by taking the Clean Earth Challenge.
Every piece you collect counts!
Pieces of trash collected and counting…
#ComeCleanForEarth
Follow these three easy steps:
Take the Challenge
1
Care about your neighborhood, local beach, park or favorite camping spot? Have you noticed trash and debris that not only affects the outdoor experience but harms the environment? You can help by picking up trash on your daily walk or local outing, or for larger cleanups, get a crew to help! Spread the word to friends, relatives, outdoor enthusiasts or other folks to take the Challenge and make an impact!
Get Out There
2
Now it’s time to pick a location and follow simple steps to safely collect trash and debris. You can pick up trash while walking your dog, hanging out at the beach, fishing at your favorite spot or hiking on your local trail. Or you can organize larger-scale cleanups. Every action helps and when you work together, the impact is big!
Collection Tips
1. Accessible Areas
If you’re on a neighborhood walk or cleaning up on a day at the beach, make sure the areas you clean are safe and accessible. Avoid any unsafe circumstances or obstacles.
2. Helpful Materials
Depending on how much you think you’ll collect, you might bring along a garbage bag, a picker and gloves to protect your hands. Garden gloves work great, or you can use plastic gloves.
3. Avoid Unsafe Items
Do not pick up any trash items that make you feel uncomfortable like glass, needles, sharp objects or PPE like masks.
4. Disposal & Drop Off
Dispose of trash and recyclable items responsibly. If items can’t be thrown in the trash (batteries, paint or any hazardous items), consult local city services for special handling and drop off instructions.
Measure your Impact
3
Track the trash! Please make sure to keep track of your cleanup efforts and measure your personal impact with one of these three steps:
- Fill in the online collection form and submit it to us.
- Print the collection form and take it to your cleanup. Fill it out and either take a legible photo or scan as a PDF and email it to us at cleanearthchallenge@nwf.org.
Organizing & Promoting a Cleanup
Whether it’s a cleanup with a small group of friends or a large-scale community event, our Cleanup Toolkit provides everything you need to get started! You’ll find planning, prep and safety information, a handy checklist and ready-to-go graphics for email, posters and social media to get the word out and inspire people to sign up for your cleanup event!
Good luck on your collection journey!
Toolkit & Marketing Materials
K-12 School Challenge Materials
See the Clean Earth Challenge in Action
Check out the amazing cleanup efforts and conservation stories from participants like you, National Wildlife Federation programs like Earth Tomorrow, EcoLeaders, EcoSchools, Great American Campout, Campus Race to Zero Waste and from our partner, Johnson Outdoors.
Share your collecting stories with us! Please email cleanearthchallenge@nwf.org with a brief description of your collecting journey, count, and pictures to be featured.
