Eco-solutions: Kyiv to join the World Cleanup Day in September

In September, the capital of Ukraine will participate in World Cleanup Day. The event will follow the motto, "Let's clean Ukraine together!"

All-Ukrainian Youth Movement Let's Do It, Ukraine NGO organizing an event in Ukraine, has announced this.

What is the problem?

World Cleanup Day takes place every year on the third Saturday of September. It's a global effort to tackle environmental pollution and reduce plastic waste on a large scale.

Every year, millions of people gather to clean up litter and plastic pollution from the streets, parks, beaches, forests, rivers, shores, and seas.

What is the solution?

As is tradition, Ukraine will participate in World Cleanup Day on September 20. The event will occur in 24 regions, following all safety regulations and war-time restrictions and considering each region's unique geography.

How does it work?

This year, 90 million participants in 211 countries will participate in the campaign.

"Starting in 2024, World Cleanup Day was designated an official UN Day and is observed every year on September 20. It has also been included in the list of international days and weeks. World Cleanup Day is now the biggest peaceful event in the world, earning recognition from the UN SDG Awards. Through collective efforts, it brings together millions to promote civil peace, build a sustainable global future, and combat solid waste," the All-Ukrainian Youth Movement Let's Do It, Ukraine, explained.

The primary goal is to promote:

• a culture of cleanliness,
• proper waste management,
• and responsible consumption among citizens,
• while also joining forces for a more environmentally friendly future.

Citizens, commercial and non-commercial organizations, companies, and government institutions will all participate in various formats to fulfill their corporate social responsibility. This includes the involvement of their employees, as well as the participation of mass media and influential individuals.

Formats of participation

• Individual and family "toloka" [a form of cleanup – ed.];
• Collective cleaning on the territory of institutions and organizations: the number of participants in the group must be limited, and the State Emergency Service must check the area for safety. In the event of an alarm, everyone must take shelter.
• Traditional cleaning: allowed only at locations recommended by local self-government bodies.
• Digital cleaning (online): removing unnecessary information from your gadgets, cloud storage, and electronic and Internet resources. This will reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere – registration of results on the site letsdoitukraine.org/digitalcleanup.
• Formation of the National Map of Recycling Points (recyclingpoints.org): "Find, sort, return," sorting of recyclables and sending them for recycling.
• Sorting of debris.

Ukrainians abroad are also invited to participate by organizing an online or offline cleanup, participating in an international event, thanking the host cities, supporting their hometown even from a distance, and registering the result.

For reference:

By the way, activists of the "Let's do it, Ukraine" movement organized a rally at the Hydropark on June 5 to celebrate the International Day of Environmental Protection.

Rubryka also wrote that on March 22, in the bay of the Dnipro River near Kyiv, they conducted a toloka on kayaks and removed more than 40 garbage cubes.

In addition, on July 10, a rally was held in Holosiyivskyi district in Kyiv near a kindergarten that was hit by Russian shelling.