World Cleanup Day | |
---|---|
Date(s) | 15 September 2018 |
Frequency | Annually |
Location(s) | Worldwide |
Years active | 6 |
Participants | (25000000) (2021) |
Budget | ~$1 million |
Website | www |
World Cleanup Day is a global social action program aimed at combating the global solid waste problem, including the problem of marine debris. It is held annually on 20 September, and is coordinated by the global organization Let's Do It! World, whose headquarters are located in Tallinn, Estonia. [1]
World Cleanup Day includes litter cleanup and waste mapping activities spanning every time zone. Environmental cleanup events are held in nearly every country until concluding near the international date line in Hawaii and American Samoa. From 2024, World Cleanup Day has been declared an official UN holiday, and added to the official UN calendar of days and weeks.
World Cleanup Day aims to raise awareness of the mismanaged waste crisis by mobilizing all spheres of society to participate in cleanup actions. Individuals, governments, corporations and organizations are all encouraged to take part in cleanups and to find solutions to tackle mismanaged waste. There are numerous organizations that facilitate and host World Cleanup Day events globally. Like Earth Day, World Cleanup Day is non-partisan, apolitical, and is not affiliated with any national or global political party or discrete ideology. [2]
The inaugural World Cleanup Day was 15 September 2018, but it builds on the successes of previous global cleanup efforts. The goal of World Cleanup Day 2018 was to involve 5% of the world's population (or approximately 380 million people). While the effort fell short of the goal, it directly mobilized 18 million people worldwide.
The 2019 World Cleanup Day was held on the 19th of September and coincided with Peace Day and the Global climate strike of September 2019.
Global cleanup efforts have existed in many forms throughout human history, especially after widespread catastrophes such as earthquakes, floods, and powerful tsunamis. [3]
In modern history, these efforts are typically undertaken by the affected communities, with support from various international organizations and NGOs, such as Red Cross, Oxfam, and other relief organizations but typically in post-conflict zones. They have included efforts to remove land mines, beach cleanups, and other municipal and non-governmental actions.
Since 2020 there also exists a Digital Cleanup Day. Initially known as Cyber World Cleanup Day, this day of action aims to draw attention to digital ecological footprints and the associated environmental impact. [4]
Participants in World Cleanup Days are typically volunteers, with coordination from non-governmental organizations who assist in awareness-raising, logistics, and fundraising.
Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EARTHDAY.ORG including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries.
Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The program is designed to investigate and clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances. Sites managed under this program are referred to as Superfund sites. Of all the sites selected for possible action under this program, 1178 remain on the National Priorities List (NPL) that makes them eligible for cleanup under the Superfund program. Sites on the NPL are considered the most highly contaminated and undergo longer-term remedial investigation and remedial action (cleanups). The state of New Jersey, the fifth smallest state in the U.S., is the location of about ten percent of the priority Superfund sites, a disproportionate amount.
Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, groups and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where it is possible, to repair damage and reverse trends.
Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. The word litter can also be used as a verb: to litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, food wrappers, cardboard boxes or plastic bottles on the ground, and leave them there indefinitely or for other people to dispose of as opposed to disposing of them correctly.
Environmental racism, ecological racism, or ecological apartheid is a form of racism leading to negative environmental outcomes such as landfills, incinerators, and hazardous waste disposal disproportionately impacting communities of color, violating substantive equality. Internationally, it is also associated with extractivism, which places the environmental burdens of mining, oil extraction, and industrial agriculture upon indigenous peoples and poorer nations largely inhabited by people of color.
World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated annually on 5 June and encourages awareness and action for the protection of the environment. It is supported by many non-governmental organizations, businesses, government entities, and represents the primary United Nations outreach day supporting the environment.
Pure Earth is a New York City-based international not-for-profit organization founded in 1999 that works to identify, clean up, and solve pollution problems in low- and middle-income countries, where high concentrations of toxic pollution have devastating health impacts, especially on children. These communities suffer disproportionately from pollution-related diseases. Pure Earth remains the only significant organization of its kind working to solve pollution on a global scale.
Ocean Conservancy is a nonprofit environmental advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., United States. The organization seeks to promote healthy and diverse ocean ecosystems, prevent marine pollution, climate change and advocates against practices that threaten oceanic and human life.
Let's do it 2008 was a large campaign on 3 May 2008, to activate civic society in Estonia in an effort to cleanup the country from litter. It was organized by Let's Do It! World.
Environmental issues are disruptions in the usual function of ecosystems. Further, these issues can be caused by humans or they can be natural. These issues are considered serious when the ecosystem cannot recover in the present situation, and catastrophic if the ecosystem is projected to certainly collapse.
Let's Do It World is a global civic organization that started from Estonia, mobilizing people worldwide in joining local, national and regional clean-up events. Among other projects, it is the founder of World Cleanup Day, on which a network of 180 countries, with over 21.2 million participants took place in 2019. First time in 2024 World Cleanup Day mobilises millions in its first year as a UN International Day.
Let's do it! Armenia is a movement in Armenia, based upon the Let's Do It! World international ecological movement. In 2012, from 24 March until 25 September, the movement aimed to carry out the Pan-Armenian volunteer initiative "Armenia Without Garbage" which involved a number of activities .The basis of the worldwide movement "Let's Do It! World" is the big cleanup organized in Estonia in 2008, during which more than 50 000 volunteers were able to clean up Estonia from 10 000 tons of waste.
Let's Clean Slovenia 2012 was a Slovenian environmental volunteer project organized by the environmental organization Ecologists Without Borders with the goal of joining 250,000 people on 24 March 2012 and cleaning municipal waste from illegal landfills in the country. Cleaning of scattered garbage in urban areas was also organized. The project, a continuation of the Let's Clean Slovenia in One Day! carried out two years before, was inspired by the Estonian campaign Let's Do It 2008 and organized within the frame of the World Cleanup 2012.
Ecologists Without Borders Association is a non-profit environmentalist organization founded in March 2009 in Slovenia with the intent of organizing environmental projects. The organization has its headquarters in Ljubljana, with members spread throughout the country.
Let's Clean Slovenia in One Day! was a Slovenian environmental volunteer project organized by the environmental organization Ecologists Without Borders on 17 April 2010. Its goal was carrying out the largest environmental act in the history of Slovenia by joining 200,000 volunteers which would remove at least 20,000 tons of municipal waste from illegal landfills in the country. Cleaning of scattered garbage in urban areas was also organized. The project was inspired by the Estonian campaign Let's Do It 2008.
Ocean Recovery Alliance (ORA) is a 501c3 registered non-profit organization in California, and registered charitable organization in Hong Kong, with the aim to use new technologies, innovations, creativity and collaborations to solve issues that face the health of the ocean today.
The Pearl Protectors is a youth-led marine conservation organisation. Established in 2018, The Pearl Protectors seek to reduce plastic pollution and conserve the marine environment through youth engagement, volunteerism, awareness and advocacy.
A cleanup or clean-up is a form of environmental volunteering where a group of people get together to pick-up and dispose of litter in a designated location. Cleanups can take place on a street, in a neighborhood, at a park, on a water stream, or other public spaces. Cleanup events are often volunteer run. The cleanup volunteers make sure the waste picked-up is disposed of in its appropriate place. Cleanup events are often community-centered and led.
Let's Do It! India (LDII) is an International Environmental Organization founded by Pankaj Choudhary in 2016. It has more than 2.2 Million active volunteers all across the country. Let's Do It! India encourages people all across the world to participate in local, governmental, and international cleanup efforts. The foundation is the Indian chapter of Let's Do It! World. It is a section 8 non profit company registered under India's company's act with required 12A and 80G section.