This Friday, World Cleanup Day 2024 successfully mobilised millions of people worldwide to tackle the growing global waste crisis. Led by the Estonian NGO ‘Let's Do It World’, this global collective action took place for the seventh year running, in its first year as an International Day in the United Nations Calendar.
With cleanup actions taking place in almost every country and territory in the world, participant numbers for this year’s World Cleanup Day are still being counted, but are on course to maintain Let’s Do It World’s position as the world’s single largest peacetime civic action movement.
Since its launch in 2018, World Cleanup Day has grown into a global phenomenon with an impressive impact. Last year, over 19.1 million volunteers from 195 countries and territories (91% of UN member states) collected over 218,000 tonnes of waste. This brings the average annual participation to more than 15 million across all six World Cleanup Day actions to date. The incredible turnout of millions of engaged citizens worldwide is a powerful demonstration of the global collective will to create a cleaner, healthier planet.
For Let’s Do It World, these global cleanups are just the beginning, with their sights set on a much deeper impact. Heidi Solba, President and Head of Global Network explains: “World Cleanup Day is a strong start, and all those coming out to clean must be widely celebrated. But to make a lasting impact, we must go beyond cleanups. Collaboration across governments, businesses, and civil society is the key to this. With our global network, we have a unique position to drive systemic change, but this requires united effort. It's time to strengthen cooperation, break barriers, and take bold steps toward a waste-free world.”
As well as mobilising millions to clean up their local environments, World Cleanup Day shone a light on the issue of Arctic pollution through its United Nations Calendar inaugural event in Tromsø, Norway. Expert scientists joined representatives from UN-Habitat, Let’s Do It World, and partners in roundtable discussions to bring this important issue to light via a global live broadcast on World Cleanup Day and UN-Habitat’s YouTube channels.
The World Cleanup Day inaugural event highlighted the complex and globally interconnected nature of the waste pollution problem, with even the most remote regions of the world being deeply affected. Anett Linno, Let’s Do It World CEO explains: “The waste problem is incredibly complex and can only be tackled through global cooperation, as mismanaged waste knows no borders. Cleanups address the symptoms, but the real solution lies in collaboration between civil society and government.”
She continues: “Overproduction and overconsumption are the main drivers of this crisis, and we need systemic change to reduce waste at the source. Our strength, as an organisation, is that we work locally to create global impact. Through our network of teams in over 160 countries, we not only organise World Cleanup Day but also carry out educational projects, implement innovative recycling systems, and partner with governments and communities to improve waste management at the local level.”
According to the World Bank, over 2 billion tonnes of waste are generated globally, with that number expected to grow to 3.4 billion tonnes by 2050. Due to poor waste management practices, much of this waste ends up in our oceans and natural environments – choking marine life, disrupting ecosystems, and contaminating water supplies.
Building on the momentum of World Cleanup Day 2024, Let's Do It World NGO and its global network continues its work throughout the year, to drive sustainable change in waste management practices through cross-sector cooperation and collective action. The teams worldwide work together, across borders, to build a clean and healthy waste-free world, for everyone.
Let’s Do It World NGO is an accredited member of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA). In July 2023, the UN Sustainable Development Goals Group acknowledged Let’s Do It World with its Mobilisation award for organising World Cleanup Day.
The Inaugural event for World Cleanup Day’s first year of inclusion in the UN International Calendar was co-organised by the Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund (NREF), UN-Habitat, GRID-Arendal in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Municipality of Tromsø, Fram Center, and Let’s Do It World.
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For further information on Let’s Do It World or World Cleanup Day, please contact:
Anett Linno
CEO
Let’s Do It World NGO
anett.linno@ldiw.org
+372 5669 2076
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