“We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it”. – Barak Obama

The above quote provides a great message and reflects that we are the last generation that can protect the environment. Currently, the environment all around the world is facing uncontrollable issues that are increasing rapidly without any accurate solutions. These issues can be solved only through small actions which will be taken by the current generations. World Cleanup Day is a small action that was taken to safeguard the environment. This article depicts the importance of the World Cleanup Day towards the betterment of the environment. World Cleanup Day is an annual global social action program aimed at combating the global solid waste problem, including the problem of marine debris. World Cleanup Day includes litter cleanup and waste mapping activities spanning every time zone. Environmental cleanup events are held in nearly every country.It is confirmed  that solid waste presents a pressing global challenge that demands immediate attention and direct action. As one of the largest civic peacebuilding actions in the world, World Cleanup Day tackles solid waste head-on, coordinating global one-day cleanups that bring together millions of individuals from over 190 countries. It began in Estonia as a cleanup with 50,000 people in 2008 and has evolved into a global movement, reaching the majority of nations worldwide. During the past five years, an astonishing 70 million people have rallied for the cause, mobilizing in a united front for the SDGs. On September 17, 2022, alone, 15 million volunteers were mobilized, dedicating 30 million hours to remove around 60,000 tons of waste from nature in a monumental effort to protect the environment during one day.

World Cleanup Day serves as a remarkable catalyst, uniting individuals, organizations, and governments in a collective effort toward environmental sustainability. The initiative’s goal is to engage at least five percent of each country’s population, demonstrating the power of unity in driving positive change. By inspiring widespread participation and active engagement, it harnesses the power of collective action to address pressing environmental challenges. It goes beyond awareness, empowering individuals to take tangible steps such as waste reduction and responsible consumption. Through its inclusive approach, it gives hope and belief that change is possible when we act together. As an example in Afghanistan, individuals carried out cleanups despite widespread opposition to coordinated civic actions. Even amid the war in Ukraine, World Cleanup Day mobilized 120,000 individuals for cleanups in conflict zones. Cyprus witnessed a historic moment as both Greek and Turkish communities united to clean their country and, despite catastrophic flooding, World Cleanup Day activists in Pakistan rallied 15,000 participants to take action. Meanwhile, in Mozambique, the initiative activated a critical mass of two million people, including a significant number of school children. World Cleanup Day exemplifies the power of unity, resilience, and the relentless pursuit of a cleaner world. Through these sustained efforts, World Cleanup Day represents a considerable change in the future generation.

This year’s inaugural event hosted by Tromsø, Norway – also known as the capital of the Arctic – is themed “Arctic Cities and Marine Litter”. The event aims to inspire other cities and communities worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect our planet’s polar and sub-polar regions. The Arctic region deserves special attention in plastic and marine litter cleanup efforts. As the Arctic ecosystem is highly sensitive to pollution, effective waste management is crucial for preserving biodiversity and ensuring environmental sustainability. However, cities such as Tromsø face unique challenges in managing waste and promoting sustainability. Located within the Arctic Circle, these cities’ coastlines experience extreme weather conditions, isolation, and remoteness. Long distances and expensive infrastructure and transportation make waste collection, recovery, and disposal processes costly and technically challenging. In addition, the Arctic regions are at the receiving end of ocean currents that bring litter from afar to these shores and rely on collaboration and positive action in many countries to reduce the litter influx to our shorelines. The Inaugural World Cleanup Day observance in Tromsø aims to highlight specific and effective waste management strategies that have been deployed in Norway, including innovative approaches to reducing waste and recovering resources in harsh climates. Norwegian Arctic cities have found effective ways to leverage innovation, community involvement, networking and collaboration to develop sustainable waste management systems that protect their unique environments and contribute to global efforts in reducing waste and plastic pollution. This event will underscore the potential of professional cleanups and innovative funding mechanisms to address waste management challenges in complex urban environments. Since the beginning of 2015, Norway has dedicated government funds for cleanup activities, showing a strong commitment and engagement in the cleanup of plastic pollution. Keep Norway Beautiful is an umbrella organisation for voluntary cleanup activities, and in 2022, more than 800,000 Norwegians were involved in cleanups (roughly 14 % of the population ). Starting in 2020, the Norwegian Retailer’s Environment Fund (NREF) developed and financed the “Cleanup Norway in Time” programme – the world’s first national professional cleanup programme. Between 2021 and 2023, 40 % of the outer coastline has been cleaned from macroplastics . The cleanup programme continues from 2024 onwards intending to increase the percentage of shoreline cleaned to 55 %, in addition to maintenance cleanups in the areas based on a documented need for return.

The world generates over 2 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, of which almost half is mismanaged . Mismanaged waste, which is neither collected nor managed in controlled facilities, negatively impacts human health and contributes to worsening the triple planetary crisis: climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Meanwhile, approximately 2.7 billion people globally lack access to basic collection services, and, without immediate action, waste generation is on track to increase to 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050. To achieve a sustainable and waste-free future, it is essential to prevent waste generation and to manage existing waste. World Cleanup Day provides a powerful platform to raise awareness about the millions of tons of mismanaged waste globally. By mobilizing cities worldwide to clean up litter and waste, we can make immediate strides in mitigating the impact of waste on our environment. This global initiative complements the Zero Waste movement by addressing present waste and inspiring action to reduce future waste generation. On 8 December 2023, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) officially established World Cleanup Day in its resolution A/78/122, to be annually observed on 20 September. The resolution welcomes the contribution of World Cleanup Day activities to date to addressing the environmental challenges associated with waste management by mobilizing people globally to participate in coordinated voluntary action, empowering collaboration, and raising broad awareness of the need to reduce waste pollution tangibly. The resolution invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system, other international and regional organizations, and other relevant stakeholders, including civil society, the private sector and academia, to observe World Cleanup Day, through cleanups and other activities aimed at raising awareness of its contribution to achieving sustainable development.

As the summary , 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. The World Cleanup  Day is not a simple action which was taken by an individual, it’s a collective effort of different individuals and organizations. As the future generation, we should take the responsibility to contribute to the clean-up projects which will be conducting  by the various communities and organizations .We must have the ability to become a part of different organizations that aim to clean the environment and to protect the environment such as the “Zero Plastic Community in Sri Lanka .”The government of the country should enforce these organizations and movements to protect the environment and should support them to make the world a better place for upcoming generations.

Written by:

Naduni Ratnayake

3rd Year

Immunology and Integrative Molecular Biology Hons.

Faculty of Science

University of Colombo.

References

https://bit.ly/3MRBIGu

https://bit.ly/3TCE2ET

https://bit.ly/3TwQoOVhttps://bit.ly/3B9zgZe

Images:

Image 1 – https://bit.ly/3MRPj0m

Image 2 – https://bit.ly/3TCELWD

Image 3 – https://bit.ly/3TuBokD


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