World Cleanup Day: the start of a weekend full of cleanups

Belgium - World Cleanup Day signals the start of a weekend full of cleanup efforts

Brussels, 20th of September 2024 - Today is World Cleanup Day. Citizens all over the world are rolling up their sleeves for a cleaner environment and less litter. That is why River Cleanup organized a successful cleanup event in and around the Brussels canal, kicking off a weekend full of cleanups in Belgium and far beyond. Over the next two days, events will follow in all ten provinces and in more than 30 other countries. You too can contribute. Literally, by helping to clean up, or by using less plastic. “The most ecological packaging is no packaging at all,” says Thomas de Groote, founder of River Cleanup.

World Cleanup Day is becoming a fine tradition. Since 2018, in the third weekend of September, people around the world roll up their sleeves for a better environment and participate in the biggest cleanup action of the year. As of this year, the UN also officially includes World Cleanup Day in its calendar. A day like this is still desperately needed. Despite the many initiatives, pollution keeps increasing and every day around ten million kg of plastic ends up in our nature and rivers.

For the sixth time, River Cleanup is launching a whole series of cleanup actions. The kick-off in Brussels was a great success. Over 323 volunteers, including schoolchildren, employees of local companies and willing citizens took action today. They enthusiastically set to work with trash grabbers and gave the area around the Brussels canal a beautiful makeover. In addition to the cleanup on the quay and surrounding streets, canoes were deployed on the canal itself to remove trash from the water. All together they gathered 503,2 kg of waste.

The action is just the beginning. River Cleanup is turning it into an entire weekend this year with which the Belgian nonprofit hopes to mobilize more than a thousand volunteers. On Saturday and Sunday, it is organizing five major cleanups and all over Belgium there are smaller cleanups and local civic initiatives. In addition, River Cleanup is mobilizing volunteers in more than 30 countries worldwide to pick up litter.

More than cleaning up

“We don't just clean up. With our actions, we also want to make people aware of their own impact. After all, avoiding disposable plastic is the best way to keep nature plastic-free and prevent the negative impact on our health. What you don't use can never end up in nature and can't enter our food chain as tiny particles. Recycling is also not the holy grail: it is much more harmful to the environment than reusing. And the most ecological packaging is no packaging at all. Because even a paper or cardboard wrapper has an environmental impact.” - Thomas de Groote, founder of River Cleanup

During World Cleanup Day, River Cleanup therefore wants to highlight plastic-free alternatives. At several cleanups, such as those in Antwerp and Liège, there will be a bulk bar, a zero waste pop-up stand. Participants will discover how to wash clothes without plastic packaging and learn about alternatives to disposable shower gel bottles with powder and tap water: powder in a reusable bottle, add water, shake a little, and you have a completely natural product, without plastic waste. In this way, everyone can reduce their own plastic consumption in a practical and accessible way. Because clean rivers start at home in your household and bathroom.

On River Cleanup's website you will find many more tips to reduce plastic.

Discover the upcoming events in Belgium on their event pages

21/09 Antwerp

21/09 Ghent

21/09 Liège

21/09 Namur

22/09 Temse

and discover more events around the world on our World Cleanup Day page!