In the digital world, just as in our natural environment, there’s a huge amount of trash. Unnecessary emails, files, apps, duplicates of photos and videos, etc., are all digital waste.
This digital trash creates digital pollution that continues to consume energy, even when we have forgotten it’s there. Each year the internet (and its supporting systems) produces 900 million tons of CO2, which is more than the annual output of the whole country of Germany!
Digital Cleanup Day is held annually on the third Saturday of March, with 2025's campaign scheduled for Saturday 15 March.
The growing concern about the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector's energy consumption and CO2 pollution created by wasteful digital practices prompted Let’s Do It World to initiate the first global Digital Cleanup Day campaign in 2020.
Since then, enough digital waste has been deleted from electronic devices to prevent the production of over 3,000 tons of CO2 a year.
Digital Cleanup Day 2024's results are still being counted. The results for 2023's campaign saw over 380,000 participants, from105 countries and territories, delete 12.7 million GB from their devices, thus preventing the annual production of at least 1,742 tons of CO2.
The Sustainable Environmental Education Program (SEEP) is an educational platform featuring vibrant dynamic educational materials forming a complete Toolkit that provides school teachers and students with relevant knowledge.
By promoting responsible engagement, and introducing gamified elements among students, SEEP aims to generate a cultural shift in schools’ behaviour that extends into their communities, actively engages school stakeholders (teachers, students, school partners, and communities), and gives them opportunities to actively participate in, and lead, an environment-wise lifestyle.
The first SEEP pilot project took place in Namibia from August 2021 to December 2022, in cooperation with Let’s Do It Namibia. A total of 48 schools, around 100 teachers, and 3,360 children participated, gaining valuable insight into environmental challenges, as well as real-life experiences shared by Estonian experts, via the SEEP platform and Toolkit.
The schools implemented their projects to improve the environmental situation around their schools and communities, with the three top-performing Namibian schools each receiving prizes. The pilot itself was financed by ‘ESTDEV’ (the Republic of Estonia's Development Cooperation Agency) in the amount of €66,655.
In September 2023, the project founders, the Let’s Do It World NGO (LDIW), started the second SEEP environmental educational project, in Tanzania, with the cooperation of LDIW's Tanzanian partner NGO Nipe Fagio. The project is financed by the Estonian government's Ministry of the Environment, from international climate cooperation funds, in the amount of €104,355. The project is scheduled to conclude in February 2025.
Learn more about SEEP projects here!
An estimated 6 trillion cigarette butts are produced globally each year, making them the planet’s most pervasive form of plastic pollution. Dropping butts is seemingly socially acceptable in the majority of the world, but they cause serious damage to the environment. Most cigarette butts contain a filter made of cellulose acetate fiber, a type of plastic.
So, what can we do? Pick up cigarette butts as often as you can, as every filter is a potential threat to wildlife and to you too! Over half the cigarette butts produced each year end up in nature – and it’s the most common litter type picked up during World Cleanup Day campaigns. You can contribute towards our big goal of collecting 1 billion a year, sending a tangible message to the industry and policy makers that we don't want cigarette butt pollution anymore. Let us know how many you’ve picked up so far!
Tip: You don't have to wait until World Cleanup Day – start an individual cleanup habit by carrying gloves and an empty trash bag with you every day and pick up trash along your regular routes!
Help us rid the planet of cigarette butt waste. Visit our website and join the movement today.
Let’s Do It World is a global network that is engaging millions of people in action-based projects. Our country leaders – individuals who are organizing World Cleanup Day, Digital Cleanup Day, and other projects locally – are experts in various fields such as civic engagement, waste management, the circular economy, and environmental topics. To leverage valuable knowledge sharing globally, the LDIW Training & Development Center is being established.
The aim of this project is to prepare a business plan for the development of the LDIW Training & Development Center, which includes a three-year financial forecast, an action plan, and a comprehensive analysis of products and services. The development of the business plan, in collaboration with an external expert, is supported by the Estonian National Foundation of Civil Society (KÜSK) with a funding amount of 4,000 euros. The project will conclude on November 30, 2024, with the submission of the LDIW Training & Development Center business plan.
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