Drove 30 miles to a beach cleanup and nobody else showed up

I booked a Saturday morning at Ocean Beach in San Francisco for a plastic pickup event I organized, but not a single person arrived besides me. Spent two hours filling five trash bags alone while tourists took selfies nearby. How do you guys actually get people to commit to this stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

perez.cole4d ago

Honestly man you gotta make it a social thing first and then sneak the cleanup in. Set up a group chat or a Facebook event like two weeks ahead, post a funny flyer with a beach pic and something like "free trash bags and coffee" lol. Show up with a cooler of drinks and snacks, blast some music, make it feel like a hangout where people happen to grab trash. Also learn from my mistake, I tried to do a park cleanup and only my roommate came because I sent the invite at midnight, so timing matters too. Maybe hype it up with before and after photos on Instagram stories to show it's not just work but a good time.

val_taylor4d ago

Oh man, the midnight invite mistake hit way too close to home lol. I planned a creek cleanup once and sent the details out the night before, ended up standing there alone with a bunch of trash bags feeling ridiculous. Definitely gotta steal that "free trash bags and coffee" flyer idea, that's gold for getting folks to actually show up. The music and snacks trick really does work though, I've seen it turn a boring task into something people wanna do again.