FAQs

For questions related to funding, head over to our “Support Us” page.

Have a question that’s not on the list? Email us at info@trashclubusa.org.


Pickups:

  • Nothing! We will provide gloves, hand sanitizer, trash bags, and trash grabbers. However, it is recommended volunteers bring water and wear comfortable clothes for walking.

  • We strive to make our pickups as simple to participate in as possible. At the start of pickups, volunteers are given supplies and split into small groups. Each group is then assigned an area to pickup litter in. After everyone is ready, we spend about 75 minutes picking up trash. At the end of the pickup, our volunteer staff will properly dispose of the litter.

  • Nope! There are no fees/membership dues/etc. for volunteering with Trash Club.

  • Definitely! Anyone is welcome at our pickups!

  • Sign up for our pickups by heading over to the “Get Involved” page or by clicking Here! Trash Club uses the free event planning service Eventbrite to schedule pickups and track attendance. When signing up, you will only be required to share your name and email.

  • Volunteers are required to RSVP to events. This does not apply for Boise State students.

  • Unfortunately, we have to cap the attendance of our pickups at about 25 people because of supply limitations. We only have so many grabbers to go around! However, capping our pickup attendance at 25 people does give us some wiggle room for one or two extra people to join with prior approval.

  • Children under 16 can attend pickups as long as a parent, guardian, or caretaker is present. For attendance purposes, children should register for events separately from their caretaker(s). By bringing a child under 16 to a Trash Club event, the caretaker assumes all liability for the child’s safety.

  • As much as we love animals, we ask that you do not bring your dog to Trash Club pickups unless they are a service animal.

  • Of course! You can either bring the physical sign off sheet to the event(s) you attend or email it to us afterwards at info@trashclubusa.org.

  • Trash Club measures the weight of the litter we cleanup using a portable scale.

    Before we purchased the scale in August 2022, we tried our best to accurately estimate the weight of what we picked up. We found that on average, a full 13 gallon trash bag weighs about 10 pounds and a full 42 gallon trash bag weighs about 30 pounds. Our hope was that by using standardized averages to track the weight of the litter, we could compensate for heavier or lighter bags. On occasion, we made exceptions to this system when deemed necessary.

Partnerships:

  • We are always happy to help local organizations give back to our community. Send an email to info@trashclubusa.org to get the conversion started.

  • We currently have enough equipment to supply up to 30 volunteers at one time. If you are interested in planning an event with more than 30 volunteers, please contact us with the number of volunteers expected to attend.

  • Trash Club is willing to host partnership pickups anywhere in Ada and Canyon Counties. However, most of the areas suitable for high numbers of volunteers and with high concentrations of litter are in Boise.

  • Email info@trashclubusa.org for more information. We would love to work with you.

Miscellaneous:

  • Unfortunately, Trash Club does not provide cleaning services to private residences or businesses.

  • When Trash Club was first started, we had originally planned to eventually expand past local pickups launch a nationwide anti-litter campaign (Hence the “USA”). Though this was (kinda) a good idea, our hearts weren’t in it. Not only was this idea incredibly expensive, but none of us wanted to spend hours at a computer creating advertisements. We figured, all the time spent creating advertisements could be better spent directly serving the community we deeply care about. Though it would be awesome to see more communities around the U.S. make an effort to reduce litter, our hearts were in Boise. Trash Club’s local approach has not only allowed us to have a targeted and visible impact, but it has enabled us to build the strong community of volunteers and community partners we have today.