More than 114 million people around the world joined hands to clean their communities to mark World Cleanup Day. The 17-year-old event took place on 20 September.
The main focus was textile and fashion waste, widening the scope beyond plastic waste. A special campaign was ‘Strive for Five’ encouraging 5% of communities to become environmental leaders and to inspire lasting change.
World Cleanup Day connected people from 160 different countries in 2024 and more this year. Citizens and organisations cleaned up parks, neighbourhoods, beaches, waterways and other public areas.
More than a day
A total of 205 000 tonnes of waste, mostly plastics, was collected on the day. This is up from 165 000 tonnes collected in 2023.
‘We want to create a wave of transformation—one that extends far beyond a single day,’ says Anett Linno, ceo of Let’s Do It World, which founded the global initiative.
Lino and her team are calling for a 60% reduction in plastic production by 2040. Another call from the non-profits is a ‘strong’ Global Plastics Treaty.
Waste Free Oceans, the Ocean Cleanup, Earth Day and similar initiatives organised dedicated cleanups on 20 September to seek ‘maximum impact’.
Shared spark
The highest participation level was in the US, where around two million people supported the initiative. German citizens were second with more 631 000 participants. In Ukraine, more than 400 000 participants rallied despite the war to showcase their nation’s commitment to a clean tomorrow.
An honourable mention goes to Mexico, where people collected more than 14.3 million cigarette butts. In the UK, supporters focussed on disposable vapes. Recent data shows that around five million of these e-cigarettes are littered UK-wide every week.
The first official World Cleanup Day was inspired by a country-wide event in Estonia in 2008. It mobilised more than 50 000 people to collect over 10 000 tonnes of recyclables within 24 hours. The annual event grew and, by 2018, had reached a global scale. The United Nations officially backed the initiative in 2024.
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