Sunday, 20 September isthe World Cleanup Day ! A reminder of our shared responsibility to preserve a clean, healthy environment and promote sustainable waste and resource management.
Every day, more than 1 billion meals are wasted globally, while millions of people continue to face hunger and lack basic services. Food waste places enormous pressure on waste systems, contributes to climate change, wastes land and water resources, and represents a missed opportunity to build more resilient and equitable systems.
Sunday, 20 September isthe World Cleanup Day ! A reminder of our shared responsibility to preserve a clean, healthy environment and promote sustainable waste and resource management.
Every day, more than 1 billion meals are wasted globally, while millions of people continue to face hunger and lack basic services. Food waste places enormous pressure on waste systems, contributes to climate change, wastes land and water resources, and represents a missed opportunity to build more resilient and equitable systems.
💚 Theme 2026 : "From Clean Plates to Clean Cities",
On 20 September 2026, people around the world unite for World Cleanup Day. It is a global movement that goes beyond cleaning up waste and aims to address the systems that generate it.
This year’s global observance focuses on food waste, one of the largest and most preventable waste streams affecting cities and communities worldwide.
Under the theme "From Clean Plates to Clean Cities", the global observance will showcase innovative policies, technologies and partnerships that accelerate action on food waste prevention, circular economy and sustainable urban development.
Food waste is a major global challenge, but substantial reductions are possible. Progress depends on reliable measurement, clear targets, supportive policies, strong partnerships and public engagement.
UNEP and UN-Habitat reporting for the 2026 International Day of Zero Waste highlights countries that have significantly reduced food waste and underscores the importance of investment, measurement, and collaboration in accelerating progress toward 2030.
Preventing waste at the source, keeping edible food in use and recovering unavoidable organic materials are practical solutions that can be expanded across communities and cities.
World Cleanup Day provides an opportunity for people everywhere to turn awareness into action.
Governments, United Nations entities, cities, schools, civil society organizations, community groups, academic institutions and individuals can organize activities addressing food waste and other local waste challenges while contributing to wider global efforts.
👩👨Education :
Include this World Clean Day into your school lessons. Alert your students to the food waste that often occurs in playgrounds and school cafeterias.
Appealing to the huge number of children, young people and families in the world who haven't no food daily and classmates who often went to school hungry.
- Register your no food waste campaign or your own cleanup event on the World Cleanup Day website. You get listed on the global map and can attract additional volunteers.
- Choose a specific location: the school yard, the school cafeteria, a park, a beach. Focused cleanups produce better results than vague ones.
- Partner with your local municipality or other school for waste collection after the event. Many local governments actively support registered cleanup events.
👉Before and After :
Today 20 September is Sunday, No school. Participation does not have to stop on September 20. The Clean Up the World campaign runs year-round projects.
Teachers and schools can register their school community group, plan food waste activities, cleanup events throughout the year, and track your impact over time.
Invite students to join the conversation using #WorldCleanupDay and #CleanPlateCleanCity.
G-Souto
20.09.2026
Schools : World Cleanup Day 2026 : "From Clean Plates to Clean Cities" by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
Sources:
UN/ UN-Habitat
