On September 17, 2022, more than 25 million people in approximately 180 countries will join in one gigantic cleanup.
In 2021, almost 14 million people in 191 countries collected 53 million kilograms of waste, despite the many restrictions of COVID-19. In South Africa, more than 60,000 volunteers participated in over 450 cleanups.
Each country is affected by the mismanaged waste in different ways. In some, waste is an issue managed by the government; in some, waste is something that the majority of the population is surrounded by; in others, waste and recycling provides thousands of jobs; in some, mismanaged waste is not such a huge issue, and in some countries mismanaged waste is a matter of life and death.
Facts:
- Every year 2 billion tons of waste is generated
- 3.5 billion people don’t have access to waste management systems
- Mismanagement of waste is a global problem. 80% of waste originates from inland.
- 8 million tons of plastics leaks into the oceans
Basic guidelines to plan a cleanup:
Waste in one place is better than waste in thousands of places. Collecting waste to one place will:
- Minimise health and environmental related risks from mismanaged waste.
- Make it easier to manage and control the collected materials.
- Make the waste and related problems more visible to authorities.
Biowaste
- The best way to deal with biowaste is to compost it onsite. This minimises the transport requirements and the fertile soil stays where it is.
- Garden leftovers, grass clippings and prunings from tree/shrubs and kitchen waste are good to compost.
Hazardous Waste
- Examples are medical waste, electronic waste, and leaking waste oils.
- Mark the place, take a photo if you can, and call experts in to handle it.
- Do not open closed bottles or containers.
Waste Management
- Set-up a “resource station” to be supervised by a resource manager.
- Many items in the waste collected at cleanups are still usable, and therefore still valuable resources. This is a way to raise awareness of the value of waste.
- Find responsible professional partners to transport, manage and recycle the waste.
A million people trying to produce less waste every day are more valuable than a dozen who produce no waste at all. To move towards a waste-free world and survive as humankind, everybody needs to contribute. The shift towards sustainability can only be achieved by acting together through positive collaboration.
World Cleanup Day Poster (4.18 MB)
