Earth Day and The Great Global CleanUp Is NOW

Hundreds of Thousands of Volunteers Will Join Local Cleanups Around the Globe for Earth Day 2021 

The Great Global Cleanup is underway and growing exponentially. Already, cleanups are registered in all 50 U.S. states, every country in Europe and on most continents with more and more being added to the map daily. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers are already taking part, with more joining each day, following COVID-safe guidelines wherever they live.

The Great Global Cleanup’s goal is to remove a billion pieces of trash from our parks, beaches, cities, waterways, and wherever waste is found. Cleanups can be organized in small groups consistent with local guidelines, or even on an individual level. It’s one of the easiest ways to safely get outdoors, beautify your community, and participate in Earth Day.

Cleanups around the world, from New York to Barcelona to Tel Aviv to Tokyo, are planned. To join the movement volunteers can register their own cleanup here. “I’m working day and night to get your cleanups on the map,” said Great Global Cleanup Coordinator Jake Rubenstein. “It’s especially gratifying to see such huge momentum in our cleanup movement after a tough year for people everywhere.” 

From Nairobi, Kenya where New Generation Outreach is hosting a Wastefree Slum Cleanup to Chennai, India where Nazareth College of Arts and Science is cleaning up Arikimbattu Village, to San Antonio, Zambales, Philippines where Youhan Beach Resort will be the site of a public cleanup — from Helsinki Finland to Juneau Alaska, and Playas de Punta Hermosa in Lima, Peru — volunteers all over the world are coming together to create a cleaner planet.

Neighborhood organizations, local charities, and companies are all banding together to use The Great Global Cleanup as a chance to do some civic good and clean their community. 

One charity planning to make a big impact is The Honeycomb Project; Chicago’s go-to organization for family volunteering. In celebration of Earth Month, Honeycomb is activating its vast network of passionate volunteers to organize their very own neighborhood workdays. Friends, family, and neighbors will join together picking up trash, collecting recyclables, and creating healthier, greener communities for everyone to enjoy. 

The Honeycomb Project’s Executive Director, Kristina Lowenstein is excited for their series of community cleanups around Chicago. “The Honeycomb Project is proud to participate in the Great Global Cleanup. Through this initiative, we’re helping Chicago youth and families discover the importance of protecting our urban environment while building lifelong habits around sustainability.”

The next generation is going to be well represented too, with cleanups entitled Toddlers Tackle Litter EarlyON Cleanup, Green Geckos in Action and Planet Savers of the Peninsula.

Gardeners, hikers, joggers, swimmers, kayakers and divers all have registered cleanups. Neighborhood cleanups are especially popular this spring with many volunteers even offering to put special effort into the unpleasant but necessary task of picking up cigarette butts.

While these individual activations may seem small, they will be great in number, and have an immense cumulative impact on all of our shared local environments. 

To find a cleanup, register a new one, or learn more, please visit: https://cleanup.earthday.org/

The Great Global Cleanup is made possible thanks to a vast network of partners including National Cleanup Day, World Cleanup Day, Let’s Do It World, Keep America Beautiful and many others.

The Great Global Cleanup supporting sponsors include American Society of Landscape Architects, JetBlue, Our Daily Wines, Palo Alto Networks, PNM Resources, and UPS. 

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Staff