Get Involved with Algo Cleanup

How to get involved

The easiest way to get involved is to start picking up garbage in your community! Below I breakdown my setup when picking up garbage around my neighborhood.

Many people want to help pickup garbage, but when you’re on a walk or a hike it can be difficult to pack it out. My setup is meant to be simple and focused on utility!

5 Gallon Bucket

Feel free to grab any 5 gallon bucket you have lying around. If it has a handle you can easily start picking up trash around your community. Be sure to wear gloves!

If you don’t own a 5 gallon bucket, I was able to purchase 1 at Ace Hardware for $7. Consider purchasing at your local hardware stores or supporting small businesses! I would not encourage you to order one through Amazon as the shipping seems to inflate the price.

Algo Cleanup stickers for your bucket

Bucket Straps

These straps make it simple to strap your 5 gallon bucket to your back! I ordered these straps on Amazon for $30. I tried to make my own strap system from an old drawstring bag, but this product was worth every penny for the comfort and the additional features!

Some helpful terms these straps are used for if you’d like to shop around are ice fishing, apple picking, and 5 gallon backpack. In my order I received a lovely card from Chris J. the inventor and he seemed very appreciative of my business and is a small business owner.

Reacher Grabber Tool

That really is the name for this tool, but I call mine the claw. I purchased mine through amazon and it was $10 and is 30″ long. Any grabber tool will work, but there are some features I’ve come to appreciate.

  1. Magnetic tip- great for picking up bottle caps
  2. Flat edge- for flattened cans
  3. Handel loop- use an old wii control strap to hang grabber
  4. Rotating head- you’ll develop an orientation preference, but this isn’t a deal breaker

At this point you are more than ready to hit the streets or trails while picking up garbage! But I do have a few more tips to make your bucket better.

Gloves

gloves for $5 at a local home improvement store. I keep them in the side pocket that comes with your bucket strap.

Plastic Divider

A simple divider is a great way to split your bucket between trash and recycling. I purchased 6 ABS plastic sheets for $20. These are flexible yet sturdy plastic sheets that are easy to cut if needed. I ordered 12″ x 16″ x 06″ sheets and cut them to make for a flush fit, but is not necessary.

But there is more! This turned out to be a fantastic dust pan. I come across broken bottles and this is a must to deal with broken glass, because the grabber just won’t be able to accommodate.

Handle Brush

I purchased a $6 handle brush that fits perfectly into the side pocket that comes with your bucket straps! It was such a perfect fit and makes it a breeze to sweep up broken glass or sweep out the bucket after dumping out your trash!

Dog Poo Bags

You can easily strap a dog poo bag holder to your bucket backpack straps.

Mace

You can easily strap quick release mace to your bucket backpack straps.

Sprinkler Flags

My final tip is to print some custom marker flags to help neighbors identify broken sprinkler heads. I walk my dog early in the morning, as I would pickup garbage I noticed many sprinklers that would be a geyser or be dumping into the street. These marker flags make it easy to show your neighbors or local park staff sprinklers that are in need of maintenance. I keep these flags in my bucket strap’s pocket with my brush.

Broken Sprinkler Head Marker Flag Algo Cleanup

How to spread the word

Once you are ready with your bucket start picking up trash! If you would like to help spread the word about this project we have a few ideas.

Download Bucket Stickers

You can download the stickers and get them printed at a local print shop or order online. They are already sized correctly for a bucket with straps.

Social Media

Follow us on our social media channels or share your own experience with your friends and community. Get your community involved; consider posting to Instagram, Facebook, or even Nextdoor. Be sure to tag us with our hash tag #algocleanup!

#AlgoCleanup

NFT Series

If you’d really like to get involved with this project learn more about Algorand and participate in our NFT series.