Team Up to Clean Up | City of Hamilton

Group of people, cleaning together in public park, saving the environment together.

Register for Team Up to Clean Up

Organize a team of volunteers to clean an area in your neighbourhood. The program provides volunteers with gloves, recycling and garbage bags.

Register your clean up event

Team Up to Clean Up is a year-round city-wide community cleanup program. This program provides all the tools you need to run a community cleanup including gloves, recycling bags and specially marked garbage bags. Approximately 25,000 volunteers participate in Team Up to Clean Up each year and invest more than 45,000 volunteer hours to help clean our community.

The program helps keep public places in your neighbourhood clean and safe for everyone. You can host a cleanup event on City property including parks, trails, alleyways, streets and parking lots.

Organizing your event

Safety Information

Supplies

Find volunteers by encouraging your friends, family and neighbours to join your cleanup event. Choose your location, set the date, and then promote!

Choose a location

Select an area where you've noticed a lot of litter. Here are some location ideas for your cleanup event:

Sporting events
Neighbourhood streets
Vacant lots or parking lots (ensure you have the owners permission)
Parks, trails or play areas
We discourage cleanups near busy streets due to safety concerns.

Set the date

Arrange a date and time that will ensure a good turnout of volunteers. Set a rain date in case of bad weather.

Promote your cleanup event

Share before and after photos of your event cleanup on social media using #cleanhamont.

It is important that all Team Up to Clean Up volunteers have read the safety information and understand what to do if they come across any hazardous items.

Safety tips

Visit the cleanup location before your cleanup date to look for possible hazards.
Arrange for adult supervision if you have youth volunteers.
Have young volunteers ask an adult first if they are unsure about picking up a piece of litter.
Make sure volunteers are safe during the event.
Wear a safety vest or bright clothing so volunteers can find you easily in an emergency.
Have all volunteers work in pairs or small groups.
Ensure all volunteers wear work gloves and closed toe shoes.
Use tools and equipment safely and as intended to avoid injury.

Remind volunteers to wash hands before eating and at the end of the day.
Keep sunscreen and insect repellent on hand.
Make sure all volunteers drink water and keep hydrated.
Ensure volunteers take breaks and do not over-exert themselves during the community clean-up.
If you experience any injuries or illnesses during the clean-up, seek medical attention immediately.
Suspend the cleanup during bad weather (fog, thunder and lightening)

Hazardous items

Do not allow volunteers to pick up anything that could be hazardous to their health. This includes:

hypodermic needles
syringes
jagged glass or other sharp objects
animal carcasses

urine bottles
heavy objects
air brakes

If you come across any hazardous items, flag them and call 905-546-2489.

Picking up your supplies

All groups who register for Team Up to Clean Up and other City of Hamilton Clean & Green programs receive orange litter bags, clear recycling bags and work gloves.

Arrange for a volunteer to pick up your supplies from the Municipal Service Centre you selected on your application form. Most Municipal Service Centres are open between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm Monday to Friday (except statutory holidays). Check Municipal Service Centre locations and hours online before you visit.

Disposing of litter

The litter you collect from your Team Up to Clean Up event should be placed curbside at your house on your waste collection day. All litter must be put in orange Team Up to Clean Up bags to be exempt from your curbside garbage limits. These bags are only available to groups who have registered with Team Up to Clean Up and other City of Hamilton Clean & Green programs. Do not use your trash tags on these bags.

You can put out as much recycling as you need on your waste collection day. Place recycling in your blue box or the clear plastic bags provided by Team Up to Clean Up.

Our Community Partners

The City of Hamilton supports local community groups and organizations that help keep Hamilton clean and green. These groups organize regular cleanups that are open to the public to participate. Contact any of these groups to join one of their cleanup teams or participate in a one-time cleanup:

Beautiful Alleys www.beautifulalleys.ca
The Escarpment Project escarpmentproject.ca

To add your group to this list, contact [email protected]

Ocean Wise Shoreline Cleanup

The City of Hamilton works with Ocean Wise Shoreline Cleanup, a conservation program by Ocean Wise Conservation that provides families, businesses and community groups the opportunity to take action to help protect waterways in their community, one bit of trash at a time. You can help keep Hamilton’s shoreline litter free by cleaning up any area where land connects to water, including lakes, rivers, streams and even parks or schoolyards (near storm drains). Since 1994, the Ocean Wise Shoreline Cleanup (previously known as the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup) has hosted 30,542 cleanups, collecting more than 2.1 million kilograms of trash across Canada’s shorelines. Register your Team Up to Clean Up event with the Ocean Wise Shoreline Cleanup to be a part of the movement to keep our shorelines clean!

Date modified

August 31, 2023