World Cleanup Day celebrated!

The campaign held as part of the World Cleanup Day (WCD) 2024 activities brought together a range of stakeholders for one positive cause – a clean city!

The events held on 20 and 21 September in Addis Ababa and Jigjiga cities brought together officials, volunteers, members of the community and other stakeholders to clean up litter and mismanaged waste from neighborhoods, streets, rivers and other areas. The collaborative efforts that involved more than 700,000 volunteers helped collect more than 232,500 kg of waste during the events. 

The events mark an important milestone in rethinking the cleanliness of cities towards achieving SDG 11 which aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Every piece of litter collected contributes to a cleaner and healthier environment. The events foster a sense of ownership among communities as neighbors and friends who come together for a common cause. But World Cleanup Day (WCD) is not just about picking up trash. It is also about raising awareness on waste management and sustainability issues as well as engaging in discussions about recycling, composting and reducing plastic use towards achieving sustainable solutions.

UN Habitat introduced the WCD events in Ethiopia for the first time in 2020, co-organizing citizen participation across the country jointly with the Federal Ministry of Urban and Infrastructure and Addis Ababa City Cleansing Management Agency.

The United Nations General Assembly, in its seventy-eighth session held on 8 December 2023, unanimously adopted resolution 78/122 which proclaims 20 September as World Cleanup Day. Before its global recognition, the World Cleanup Day was first introduced in Estonia in 2008 as the biggest civic movement where 50,000 people were united to clean up the entire country in just five hours.