Clean up a Beach

What can we use if a litter picker, rigid bucket, or gloves are hard to find?

If you don't have a litter picker use long kitchen tongs or a sturdy stick, replace gloves with thick garden or rubber gloves, and use a hard plastic container with a screw-on lid or an empty paint can as the rigid bucket for sharps while keeping a heavy-duty trash bag and a box for recyclables.

What should we do if a glove rips or we're unsure whether an item is recyclable during the cleanup?

If a glove rips stop and put on a fresh pair, and if you find broken glass or needles follow the instruction to 'stop and call your adult immediately' so the adult can place sharps into the rigid bucket with the lid, while uncertain items should be checked for recycling symbols or placed in the trash bag to avoid contamination.

How can we adapt this beach cleanup for different ages?

For younger children shorten the cleanup area, let them pick only large, safe items with gloved hands while the adult handles sharp items and records counts, and for older kids use the litter picker, sort recyclables into the recyclables box, write detailed totals in the notebook, and post the results to DIY.org.

How can we extend or personalize the beach cleanup activity after finishing the basic steps?

To enhance the activity turn 'set a visible boundary' into a mapped grid to clean and count pieces per grid in your notebook, take before-and-after photos to share on DIY.org, and decorate or label your recyclables box and gloves to personalize the cleanup.