The annual National CleanUp Day, in partnership with EARTHDAY.ORG, Keep America Beautiful and Let’s Do It World (organizers of World Cleanup Day), will return for its sixth year on Saturday, Sept. 17. Volunteers throughout the country will participate in the removal of trash via thousands of organized cleanups nationwide.
Whether it’s a major cleanup with thousands of participants or a small group of a dozen or less, all participants make a major difference by participating in National CleanUp Day. Held annually on the third Saturday of every September, National CleanUp Day addresses the issue of excess waste and litter across America.
Since the inaugural cleanups in 2017, hundreds of thousands of participants have helped clean up parks, beaches, rivers and forests, removing tons of litter in the process. Each year the enthusiasm from volunteers has grown, and so has turnout and the number of cleanups, with hundreds of thousands expected to participate this September.
EARTHDAY.ORG is a long-time partner of National CleanUp Day, also partnering on its own cleanups in April for its Great Global Cleanup. EARTHDAY.ORG saw tangible results during the Great Global Cleanup that it hopes to replicate on Sept. 17.
EARTHDAY.ORG President Kathleen Rogers said, “National CleanUp Day is a pivotal partner of EARTHDAY.ORG in our effort to draw attention to the global waste crisis, particularly plastics. With their help, EARTHDAY.ORG’s Great Global Cleanup in April took close to 160 million pounds of plastics and other toxic waste out of our waterways, our parks and our communities.
“More than 13.5 million volunteers participated from 187 countries,” she continued. “In addition to protecting the environment, we are activating our cleanup volunteers to support the newly introduced global plastics treaty. Our goal is to build the world’s largest effort to eliminate plastics and other waste from our environment once and for all. This September’s National CleanUp Day will continue that positive momentum.”
Keep America Beautiful is another pivotal partner and organizer. “National CleanUp Day is such a great opportunity for individuals to get out there and make a difference! These cleanups are an important building block toward a better environment for us all,” said President and CEO, Jennifer Lawson. “As we share in the celebration of cleaner, greener, and more beautiful communities today, we look forward to continuing to support volunteerism through cleanups in our affiliate network and throughout the nation.”
Heidi Solba, president and head of the Global Network of Let’s Do It World, the organizers of World CleanUp Day, expressed her excitement about their partnership with National CleanUp Day. “Cleaning up the world alone is not enough – we need to work with other like-minded organizations from all sectors. We as humanity are drowning in our own waste, a situation that needs focused attention. On World Cleanup Day 2022, we will engage thousands of organizations and millions of volunteers with our global network in a global challenge. We are extremely happy that our campaign finds support from our global partners like National CleanUp Day.”
To learn more, view a map of cleanups, join or even create your own, visit nationalcleanupday.org.
