Every September 17, since 2008, the “World Cleanup Day” is celebrated, a global initiative that tries to help with the conservation of the planet through massive waste collection days in seas, rivers, forests or beaches.
Why is World Cleanup Day celebrated?
The story behind this day began in the small country of Estonia, whose inhabitants in 2008 decided to take in their hands the cleaning of their home, meaning by home their whole nation. It took them about 5 hours but in the end, all of Estonia was free of garbage and its people, much more united.
The action of this small country led the world to reflect, if an action as simple as going out in the street and cleaning the front of your house, picking up trash in the park or cleaning a small plot of land, had made a difference for a small nation in northern Europe, what would happen if the whole world imitated them? And that’s how the Let’s Do It World (LDIW) movement was born: the organization in charge of the annual global cleanup.
Some figures
By the year of 2050 there could be more plastics than fishes in the sea, acording to a report of the World Economic Forum, the world generates 2.01 billion tons of municipal solid waste annually.
This is why World Cleanup Day unites millions of volunteers, governments and organizations in 191 countries to tackle the global problem of waste, and also to build a sustainable world. To join as a volunteer or to find the actions already organized in your city you can visit https://www.worldcleanupday.org/
Sources:
https://www.diainternacionalde.com/ficha/dia-mundial-limpieza
https://www.france24.com/es/medio-ambiente/20210918-dia-mundial-limpieza-plastico-contaminacion
https://www.worldcleanupday.org/