The ninth global World Cleanup Day aims to mobilise a critical mass of 5% of the world’s population to take action for our shared home – planet Earth. According to research, this is the level of participation that can help trigger lasting societal change.
The ninth World Cleanup Day will take place on 20 September, with this year’s global coordination operating from three cities – Riga, Tallinn and Kyiv. The campaign message is “Strive for Five.”
According to Heidi Solba, President and Head of the Global Network of Let’s Do It World, the goal of World Cleanup Day is to mobilise an increasing number of people in order to create greater and more lasting change.
“When a sufficiently large part of society acts together, it becomes a force that reaches far beyond a single cleanup day. Through our ‘Strive for Five’ message, we want to invite people, businesses, schools and governments around the world to experience how individual actions can together create a societal tipping point,” said Solba.
“We no longer want to focus only on cleaning up waste that has already been created. Instead, we need to mobilise people to increase awareness and cooperation and ask how we can generate less waste, change consumption habits and strengthen communities so that the actions of one day can create a long-term and lasting impact,” Solba added.
Three Coordination Hubs: Riga, Tallinn and KyivThree Coordination Hubs: Riga, Tallinn and Kyiv
World Cleanup Day on 20 September will be connected globally through an International Broadcast from Riga. In addition, the global Call Center will operate from Tallinn, while the global Media Center will be based in Kyiv.
“The decision to divide coordination between Riga, Tallinn and Kyiv demonstrates that World Cleanup Day operates as one united network even under challenging circumstances, connecting countries, communities and stories into one global narrative,” Solba noted.
- Riga will host the coordination hub for the International Broadcast at Riga City Council, together with the WCD Village, which will be open to the public. The broadcast will take place from 10:00–13:00 and 15:00–18:00 CEST. Partners include the Latvian Environmental Protection Fund and the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Vita Jaunzeme, CEO of LIELĀ TALKA and Latvian representative at World Cleanup Day, said:
“This year’s World Cleanup Global Broadcast will be streamed live from Riga, the capital of Latvia. The event celebrates the years of dedication Latvian volunteers have invested in cleaning up our land and stands in solidarity with volunteers around the world who care deeply about our planet’s future. As human beings, we are responsible for one another. Caring for each other also means caring for nature and everything within it. Because together, #WeAreNature.”
- Tallinn will host the global Call Center, maintaining direct contact with World Cleanup Day country teams and the global network.
- Kyiv will host the global Media Center, coordinating international media coverage and stories from around the world.
This year’s central World Cleanup Day celebration will take place in Shaoxing, China, from 19–21 September, in accordance with the United Nations international calendar and in cooperation with UN-Habitat and the host country. Let’s Do It World will be represented there by Heidi Solba.
EarthDay.org is a partner of World Cleanup Day 2026.
The Global Network Continues to Grow
Let’s Do It World is headquartered in Estonia and manages and coordinates a network of environmental movements in more than 190 countries and territories.
In 2025, 25 million people in 190 countries and territories participated in World Cleanup Day. Since 2018, a total of 139 million people across 211 countries and territories have joined the movement, collectively cleaning up more than 870,000 tonnes of waste.
According to data from the global media monitoring company Meltwater, World Cleanup Day potentially reached 2.4 billion people through media coverage last year.
Strong Communities in Times of Crisis
Today, many World Cleanup Day teams are operating in the midst of crises – against the backdrop of wars, wildfires, earthquakes and floods, whether in Ukraine, Colombia, Nepal or elsewhere around the world.
These examples raise a question that reaches far beyond a single cleanup action: How can acting together help communities and societies cope with crises, build trust, share knowledge and learn from one another in order to become more sustainable and resilient?
About World Cleanup Day
The movement began in Estonia in 2008, when 50,000 people cleaned up the entire country in just five hours. This initiative grew into a global civic movement, leading to the first World Cleanup Day in 2018, bringing together people around the world.
Since 2019, Let’s Do It World has coordinated the movement, connecting millions of people in more than 190 countries every year.
In 2024, the United Nations recognised this journey by adding 20 September – World Cleanup Day – to its calendar of international days.
World Cleanup Day 2026 and the work of Let’s Do It World are supported this year by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia and the Latvian Environmental Protection Fund.
For further information please visit https://www.worldcleanupday.org/
