What does it take to clean up a town? Several groups in the area are about to find out this weekend, during the Don’t Trash Wareham townwide cleanup initiative.

Nora Bicki, a Don’t Trash Wareham organizer, said the cleanup, which takes place May 30 and 31, is phase one of a two-phase attack on town litter.

“It’s about cleaning up the town, and then preventing [more] litter,” Bicki said.

Bicki said she and four other concerned citizens decided to put on a town cleanup day, after doing research on how to prevent litter. She said the research the group did yielded studies that show people are less likely to litter, if others aren’t doing it, either.

“High litter fines don’t deter people, because they don’t think they will get caught, and they don’t do it in front of policemen,” Bicki said. “[Fines] aren’t as effective as getting people to change their attitude.

Bicki said over 200 people have signed up to help, and several businesses in the Wareham and Onset area have donated trash bags, gloves, and water for the workers. Bicki said the initiative will continue into the summer and fall, and that she will be involving the town’s youngsters.

“I will be working with the children’s librarian at the Wareham Free Library to see how we can coordinate some of the summer reading with littering,” Bicki said. “We also want to eventually work with the lower grades … because getting children to influence their parents is part of the program.”

Bicki said she also does not believe that public trashcans alone will solve the problem. She said they are certainly useful in some communities, but thinks Wareham has a trash problem that runs more deeply than lack of public trash receptacles.

“A lot of the trash is from cars,” Bicki said. “They aren’t going to stop at a trash barrel to throw out their Dunkin’ Donuts cup. … [Trash cans] aren’t the panacea that everybody seems to think will take care of the littering problem.”

Bicki said she thinks the weekend will be a great way to kick off keeping Wareham clean well into the future.

“The response has been incredible,” Bicki said. “Everyone who has heard has been willing to jump in and do their part.”

According to Bicki, the project will not be structured for individuals, in terms of where and when to meet up. She said the group wanted to make it as easy as possible for people to participate in the cleanup. However, there are different groups people may join, such as the Friends of the Wareham Library, which will be hosting a portion of the cleanup on the library grounds, and Richard Arruda playground. The library cleanup will take place between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Other groups include the Onset Bay Association's Beautification Committee, the Wareham Historical Society, and the Wareham High School and Middle School. Bicki said she expects these groups to start between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.

For more information, or to join a group, visit the Don’t Trash Wareham project’s Facebook page, or contact them via e-mail at donttrashwareham@gmail.com.

The Gleason Family YMCA has also organized its own, independent YMCA Clean Up Day. For more information, or to join the YMCA's cleanup initiative, contact Melissa Dyer at mdyer@ymcasouthcoast.org.