Guidelines for Sponsoring Litter-Free Events

Source: Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality

Back

Litter-Free Events

If you are involved in the coordination of any event, this will help you make it Litter-Free.

OBJECTIVE:

To create public events free from litter.

BENEFITS:

Reduces cleanup costs and helps encourage anti-littering attitudes.

REWARDS:

A cleaner, more attractive environment.

Litter is more than just an eyesore. It is a health and safety hazard as well. Litter can create areas that attract disease-carrying pests, such as rats, skunks and mosquitoes. Litter can also be harmful to wildlife. Animals, birds and fish can be injured by soda cans, cigarette butts, plastic wrappers and other kinds of litter. Litter-strewn roads and highways hurt tourism by creating a negative image for state visitors. One of the indirect costs is the potential water pollution often caused by illegal dumping and litter. Litter is also expensive to clean up.

Making your event litter-free can be fun and it promotes environmental awareness by involving everyone at the event in reducing litter. If recycling services are available, offer recycling receptacles in addition to trash receptacles at your event.

Guidelines to make your event more successful.

• Assign a Litter Free Event Chairperson to schedule volunteers, signage, equipment, and promotions.
• Inform the property owners that you will need a Property Maintenance Representative.
• Assist the Event Sponsor with items needed to conduct your event as "Litter-Free."
• Coordinate with Event Volunteers about their role in the event.

Event Chairperson Guidelines

• Develop a promotion plan for the event. In promotional pieces, promote in advance that your event will be conducted as a "Litter-Free" event. Be sure to include news releases to solicit media coverage of your event in your promotion plan. Television, radio and newspaper publicity is an excellent tool in promoting events.
• At the event, provide banners, bags, posters, buttons and/or other promotion materials reminding all that the event is "Litter-Free."

Maintenance Representative Guidelines

• Provide trash and recycling receptacles at convenient locations throughout the event.
• Provide a location drop-off for collected items placed in receptacles during the event.
• It is IMPERATIVE to arrange for hauling and disposal of both the trash and recyclable items collected.

Event Sponsor Guidelines

• Provide trash and recycling bags to event attendees.
• Work with the Event Chairperson to provide banners and signage for the event.
• Provide T-shirts and/or buttons identifying event volunteers.

Event Volunteer Guidelines

• Wear T-shirts and/or buttons that identify you as a volunteer.
• Hand out trash and recycling bags throughout the event to encourage litter pick-up.
• Check all receptacles during the event to see if they are full and need to be emptied. Take all full bags to a drop-off location determined by the Maintenance Representative. The best way to handle this task is to place multiple bags in the containers so that when you remove the full bag, it is ready for more trash.
• Encourage participants to keep the event "Litter-Free."

Other Helpful Hints

Take photographs before, during and after the event to help evaluate your success and for use in future event planning and promotions.

Provide plenty of recycling and trash receptacles at the event to ensure participation in being "Litter-Free." Always plan for more than you really think you need. Station people at the cans, if possible.

Keep notes of successes and problems of the event to create better success at future "Litter-Free" events.

Making frequent announcements over the public address system is important. Try something creative that will attract people's attention. It's very difficult to hold a "Litter-Free" event if people don't know that's what it is and what it means. Banners and signs are also helpful to spread the awareness.

Need Help?

The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality can help you by providing information on recycling, composting, pollution prevention, waste reduction, water conservation, air quality and other environmental education issues. ODEQ offers assistance to schools, organizations, individuals, governments, and businesses.