Frequently Asked Questions – Great NS Pick Me Up

Both programs provide supplies and facilitation for volunteer teams looking to clean up litter in Nova Scotia! Both programs provide you with free clean-up supplies including gloves and clear/blue bags and will help you in disposing of your litter properly.

The Adopt-A-Highway program gives volunteers the opportunity to adopt a section of roadway for a three-year period. During this time, volunteers agree to complete two clean-ups per year, usually one in the spring and one in the fall. After three years, you have the opportunity to renew your contract or disband your group. Signage is also given to our volunteer groups on either end of their adopted section after two clean-ups have been completed.

The Great NS Pick-Me-Up program is a one-time litter facilitation program. You register a clean-up for an approved roadway, beach, shoreline, park, trail, or community of your choosing, complete the clean-up, and are in no way obligated to do it again in the same location. You can register for as many or as few clean-ups throughout the province at various locations as you’d like. There is no signage for clean-ups through the Pick-Me-Up program.

The Great Nova Scotia Pick-Me-Up provides supplies and facilitation for volunteer teams looking to clean up litter in Nova Scotia.

Each team will be headed by a clean-up coordinator, who will register the group and serve as its primary contact.

Organizing a clean-up is simple:

1. Choose a clean-up location.
2. Determine how to manage your garbage and recyclables once the clean-up is completed.
3. Register your team at www.nspickmeup.ca.
4. Pick up your clean-up supplies; Call ahead if outside HRM.
5. Complete your clean-up.
6. Fill out the data card form on our website or  submit a paper copy to us via mail or email.

Clean-ups can be registered by visiting www.nspickmeup.ca. The clean-up coordinator should fill out the registration form. You can make your clean-up public so anyone can join you, or keep it private so only your chosen team members can participate.

You will need to know the following information to complete your registration:

1. Your organization or team name.
2. The name, email and phone number for your clean-up coordinator.
3. The location of your clean-up.
4. The date of your clean-up.
5. A description of how you plan to dispose of the collected garbage and recyclables after your clean-up.
6. How you heard about the Great Nova Scotia Pick-Me-Up and whether you have previously participated in the program.
7. Any other important information you think we should know.

Once registered, you will receive an approval email with instructions on how to pick up clean-up supplies within your waste region. Pick up locations for supplies and contact information can be found below in the FAQ’s. Following your registration, you may be contacted by an Adopt-A-Highway staff member with follow-up questions to help us facilitate your clean-up.

Yes, an Adopt-A-Highway staff member can take registrations by phone for teams that do not have access to the internet. To make registrations over the phone clean-up coordinators can call the Adopt-A-Highway at 902-802-6530.

You should have the following information ready when you call:

1. Your organization or team name.
2. The name, email and phone number for your clean-up coordinator.
3. The location of your clean-up.
4. The date of your clean-up.
5. A description of how plan to dispose of the collected garbage and recyclables after your clean-up.
6. How you heard about the Great Nova Scotia Pick-Me-Up and whether you have previously participated in the program.
7. Any other important information you think we should know.

When registering, a clean-up coordinator can select whether the clean-up will be public or private. If the clean-up is private, your cleanup will appear on our map but no contact information will be shown. If the clean-up is public, the clean-up will appear on our map with the coordinators contact information so that individuals may contact them and ask to join the cleanup. All cleanup groups must still follow group and cleanup restrictions.

Most definitely! Our aim is to allow communities to easily rally together and organize bigger clean-ups without having to all register separately.

Visit our clean-up map and click on “clean-up locations” to view events already taking place within your community.

If you require clean-up supplies and/or need help scheduling a pick-up for your garbage and recyclables, we ask that you register at least two weeks prior to the date of your event.

If you do not require clean-up supplies and have made your own arrangements to dispose of your garbage and recyclables after your clean-up, you can register up until the day before your event.

If registering less than two weeks prior to the event please call our office at 902-802-6530 to confirm that your desired clean-up location is not scheduled to be cleaned by another team.

Click Here! To Register Today!

It’s okay if you have to change the date of your clean-up. Please note that the clean-up coordinator is responsible for notifying their team members of the change. Please let our office know of the change at info@nsadoptahighway.ca or 902-802-6530.

If you have made arrangements to have your garbage picked up by your local waste region or wasteless@halifax.ca, you should contact the responsible authority ASAP to cancel or re-book.

You may need to provide two weeks’ notice of your new clean-up date in order to ensure that you can get your garbage and recyclables pickup rescheduled.

When a clean-up coordinator registers a clean-up, they can pick up the following supplies at select locations

• • Clear garbage bags (approximately 1 per adult, or 1 per 3 youth, unless requested otherwise)
  • Blue recycling bags (approximately 1 per 10 garbage bags)
  • Disposable Gloves – Supplies are limited

    *Please note that supplies are available on a first come basis.

The Adopt-A-Highway will also email the following documents to the clean-up coordinator:

• A handbook containing information on the Great Nova Scotia Pick-Me-Up program, safety information, COVID-19 precautions,  tips for running a successful clean-up, and contact information for local waste regions.
• An electronic version of a poster that can be printed off and used to help promote the clean-up event.
• A data card that must be emailed or mailed to Adopt A Highway after the clean-up. You also have the option to complete the data card electronically online at www.nspickmeup.ca/submit-your-data-card.

Please call your waste region to arrange pick up of your teams supplies. The waste region’s contact information will be emailed to your team’s clean-up coordinator upon registration. You may also find your local waste region’s contact information below in the FAQ section.

We encourage groups to save their supplies for their next clean-up! 

 Please contact your waste region to arrange your garbage bags to be picked up.

It’s okay if you have to change the date of your clean-up. Please note that the clean-up coordinator is responsible for notifying their team members of the change.

If you have made arrangements to have your garbage picked up by your local waste region or wasteless@halifax.ca, you should contact the responsible authority ASAP to cancel or re-book.

You may need to provide two weeks’ notice of your new clean-up date in order to ensure that you can get your garbage and recyclables picked up.

Yes. Blue bags are provided to all clean-up participants, and any clean materials that are recyclable in your region should be placed in a blue bag for collection.

Additionally, any refundables found during the clean-up can be collected and returned to a depot for a monetary refund.

There are certain materials that cannot be picked up through regular waste collection.

Electronics: Visit www.recyclemyelectronics.ca/ns for a listing of items that cannot be disposed in regular garbage and to find the nearest electronics recycling drop-off location.

Tires: Return up to four passenger vehicle tires to any tire retailer in Nova Scotia at no charge. Visit www.divertns.ca for details.

Leftover Paint: Visit www.productcare.org/province/nova-scotia to find a location where paint can be recycled at no charge.

Clean-up coordinators can contact their local waste region for information on how to properly dispose of hazardous waste.

Used condoms should only be picked up using tongs and while wearing gloves. Do not touch the condom directly with bare hands.

Needles and syringes should be left where they are by the team. Do not put needles and syringes in garbage bags, bins or anything other than an approved sharps container. Do not touch needles or syringes directly with bare hands and never attempt to cover, bend or break any needles or syringes.

For more information on the importance of proper sharps disposal please visit: www.dontbeaprick.org.

Make a note of the locations of any used needles and report their locations reported to your local waste region.

Contact your local waste region for garbage disposal options.

Waste management practices vary slightly from region to region, so confirming disposal details with your local waste region contacts is key to ensuring that your teams hard work pays off.

REGION 1
Cape Breton Regional Municipality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 902-563-5593
Inverness, Richmond, Port Hawkesbury. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 902-787-2177
Victoria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 902-295-3144

REGION 2
Antigonish/Guysborough. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 902-870-2817 or 1-888-377-9622
Pictou. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  902-396-1495

REGION 3
Cumberland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 902-667-5141 or 1-888-711-5925
Colchester. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 902-895-4777
East Hants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-888-873-3332

REGION 4
Halifax Regional Municipality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dial 311, 902-476-2470 or wasteless@halifax.ca

REGION 5
Kings/Annapolis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 902-679-1325 or 1-877-927-8300

REGION 6
District of Chester. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 902-275-2330
Town of Lunenburg (Contact: Coastal Action) . . . . . . . . . . . 902-634-8992 ext. 246
Bridgewater/Mahone Bay/District of Lunenburg. . . . . . . . . .902-543-2991
Queens Municipality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 902-354-3455
Shelburne and surrounding area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 902-875-5336
Barrington and surrounding area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 902-637-2015
West Hants Region. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 902-798-8391 ext. 128

REGION 7
Digby/Yarmouth County. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 902-742-1312 or 1-800-569-0039

The Great Nova Scotia Pick Me Up is now accepting registrations.

Many groups prefer to plan their clean-up during the early spring when garbage is visible – the snow has melted, but the grass and trees aren’t yet in bloom. This makes it really easy to find and grab the litter that surfaces after the long winter months.

Our volunteers know the best location for a litter clean-up as they know their communities best. Here are a few things to consider:

• Check out our clean-up map to see where other clean-ups are taking place in their community. Individuals can either join existing public clean-ups or start their own.
• If a person is thinking of cleaning areas such as parks or private property, we recommend contacting the park operators/landowners for permission first. Any issues related to trespassing are the sole responsibility of the clean-up team.
• For safety reasons, you are not permitted to carry out clean-ups along 100-series or controlled access highways.
• Roadsides and beaches are common areas that have a higher than normal amount of litter.

Groups can share the clean-up event within their community in many ways. Download our poster template, which can be printed off and hung in popular community hubs.

Using our clean-up map, clean-up coordinators can share their event via Facebook and Twitter. You can also choose to reach community members by contacting local radio stations or newspapers.

Roadside cleanups are a great way to make a difference in your community. Depending on the area, roadside litter permits are required in order to complete your cleanup. For help with obtaining a permit, please contact us.

Contest Alert!  every data card submission is automatically entered to win one of three great prize packs valued at over $100.

We ask that all clean-up coordinators submit a data card to us describing how much and what types of litter are collected during clean-ups. This helps us determine the impact of everyone’s efforts as well as what types of litter troubles communities.

Clean-up coordinators should send in their completed data card as soon as possible after their event. The data card can be completed online via our website or a paper copy can be completed and mailed to:

Attention: Coastal Action
45 School St

Mahone Bay  NS B0J 2E0

Or email to: litterprograms@coastalaction.org

Clean-up coordinators can use a household, luggage or spring scale, or try comparing the weight of individual bags to regular items (e.g., a bag of sugar = 2kg). Other ideas include having the bags or large items weighed at pick-up or when dropping them off at the landfill. You can also look up weight estimates for large items (e.g. tire = 22lbs).

The health and safety of clean-up volunteers is the responsibility of the clean-up coordinator. Prior to a clean-up, coordinators should review the following safe work practices.

The Great Nova Scotia Pick-Me-Up Litter Handbook emailed to you with at registration contains safety tips, information and COVID-19 rules to help you and your team clean safely. The practices contained in our handbook are not meant to be a exhaustive listing. It is also recommended that teams carry their own liability insurance.

We also have delevoped these COVID-19 precautions!

Litter Sweep Contest: Submit your pictures of the litter you find during your cleanup for a chance to win Cash. First place is $200, second is $100, and third is $50!

Data Card Contest: Every data card submission is automatically entered to win one of three prize packs valued at over $100 each.

Social Media: We hold multiple contests during our cleanup season on our social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Check us out!