If you were to drive down a busy road after the spring thaw in Hamilton, Canada, you would see a large amount of trash that had been thrown from passing vehicles and accumulated over the winter. We decided to help a local non-profit to do something about it.

Fix Our World (FOW) is a small Not-for-Profit organization in Hamilton, Ontario, dedicated to the cause of protecting the environment, specifically, removing litter. FOW organized litter cleanup initiatives for McMaster University that gave students a way to earn volunteer credits. 

Their organization was about to launch a litter cleanup campaign and contest among ten Catholic schools in Hamilton.  The Founder believed the biggest source of litter was fast food trash. She wanted to created more accountability, so I suggested we turn the campaign into a research project. I volunteered to develop a worksheet students could use to collect data on the litter. In addition, I suggested creating a website to display the litter data and generate insights that could potentially help the City of Hamilton to identify solutions. 

As the campaign got underway, I sent a press release to the Hamilton Spectator Newspaper. The Hamilton Spectator published a story that gave the campaign wide exposure and significantly increased website traffic. After the data had been collected and transferred to the charts, I create "The Most Littered Brands Report." Then the Hamilton Spectator ran a second newspaper article that reported on our findings, again significantly increasing website traffic. 

A Wordpress website was developed and hosted at StreetTeamCleanup.com. This included the new name and logo. The website is no longer hosted online, but can be viewed on the Wayback Machine website. 

As the website was being developed, I participated in a presentation for students and took part in a litter clean-up day where I provided additional training and support for the students.

The Most Littered Brand Report revealed the top ten most littered brands. The report included details about the brands, types of litter, quantity, and location.

The goal was not to embarrass brands, but to bring more awareness to the problem and use the data to identify potential solutions.

After our cleanup campaign brought public attention to the issue, the City of Hamilton took action — launching its own “Team Up to Clean Up” program, which continues today. This initiative empowers local residents with funding and support to organize their own litter cleanup events, ensuring the momentum we sparked turned into a lasting, community-driven solution!