one person. one bag. a big difference
The Challenge kicks off in April. Sign up for more information below and you will be one of the first to know about this impactful initiative.
Even small efforts make a difference. Filling one bag – large or small – removes trash and waste from our outdoor spaces. Each bag can make a mountain of difference.
Let’s create a new generation of stewards while encouraging existing park users and visitors to leave our outdoor spaces better than they found them.
What: The One Bag Challenge reduces litter and builds community. All it takes is one bag and a few minutes to make a positive impact in our open spaces.
Impact: Dog poop, single use plastics or parts broken off an old Honda, it doesn’t matter what the litter is, the One Bag Challenge will improve the quality of life for everyone (and everything) that uses our parks. Removing litter will protect fragile habitats, protect water quality and creates a behavioral change and fosters stewardship.
Why is TOSC doing this?: Park stewardship needs to evolve. Hosting large scale volunteer driven cleanups is becoming increasingly difficult. The overall cost of these events and availability of volunteers is putting many cleanups in jeopardy of continuing. TOSC wants to be proactive and prevent the need for large cleanups. This can be accomplished by making sure that people have bags on them before go out on adventures. Furthermore, 2024 is the year of building connections. When people are out picking up trash, they are building a connection with nature which will inspire them to be advocates for our favorite wild places
How you can help: We need support getting bags into the hands of trail users. Having financial support to procure bags and will allow us to spend time out in the wild, meeting people at trailheads and events. Financial support can also be used to help market the event through digital and print means. To have a more impactful challenge, You can help incentivize the type of behavior we’d all like to see!
Interested in helping sponsor this initiative? Email TOSC and let’s talk. info@trailsandopenspaces.org
Why is picking up litter important?
All litter accumulates in our outdoor spaces taking a long time to break down – if it does at all (we are looking at you, PFAS.)
Microtrash like can tabs, cigarette butts, bottle caps, or pieces of food wrappers peppers campground, trails, and parks. Some of these are accidentally left behind, some intentionally discarded.
How long will they stay there if we don’t remove them?
- Wool or Leather (gloves, socks, straps, clothing) — Up to 5 Years
- Plastic-Coated Paper and Food Wrappers — Up to 5 Years
- Fishing Line — 600 years (also the leading cause of wildlife entanglement)
- Cigarette Butt — Up to 12 years
- Plastic Bags — Up to 20 Years
- Nylon Fabrics — Up to 40 Years
- Tin Cans — Up to 50 Years
- Aluminum Can — Up to 100 years
- Plastic 6-Pack Holder — Up to 100 years
- Glass Bottles — 1,000,000 Years
- Apple Cores — Up to 2 Months
- Orange or Banana Peel — Up to 2 Years
- Pistachio Shells — Up to 4 Years
- Dog Waste — depending on climate 8-9 weeks to 1 year
Download your own One Bag Challenge Summer Activity List!
(Click on the image to access the PDF)
How to Have Your Own Challenge
Participating in the One Bag Challenge doesn’t have to be an event, in its purest sense: just keep an eye out and pick up any litter or trash you see while recreating.
Want to make an event of it? Get together with some friends and each of you bring a bag. Set a time limit – we suggest fifteen minutes – and then spread out and fill your bags.
Because we were curious about how much we were able to collect, we then spread it out on a tarp (use gloves if you have them) and then took photos. It was truly impressive how our efforts in such a short time frame made that much of a difference in the litter that was in the park.
Make a game of it:
- Who collected the most
- Most unusual thing found (one of our participants found a dollar bill!)
- How many things of a certain color
- How many of one thing (water bottle, candy wrapper, etc..)
We would love for you to share your photos with us! Tag @trailsandopenspace on Insta or on Facebook and use the following hashtags:
#OneBagChallenge
#TOSCOBC
#TOSCOneBag
Or you can send them to aaron@trailsandopenspaces.org and we will share it on our socials!
Most importantly: Have fun and feel proud you are doing your part to keep our outdoor spaces clean for everyone.
Make it a Game!
Heading out with the kids? Get them involved and make a fun day of it.
Show them what a difference their own Magic Bag can make.
