Join a cleanup
Start with your country to find a national route and the teams organising near you. If nothing is listed close by, a cleanup you run yourself counts just as much — gloves, a few bags, and the area around you.
Find my country20 September 2026
Get involved.
World Cleanup Day is an annual global social action programme against the mismanaged waste crisis. Since 2024 it has been an official UN day, held on 20 September and listed in the UN Calendar of International Days.
You can take part as someone who joins a cleanup, as someone who organises one, or both.
Organise a cleanup
Register a place and a time so people nearby have something obvious to join. Your event appears on the global cleanup map and you get a link to share. If 20 September itself does not work, events before or after the date still count.
Plan a cleanupWhy 5%?
More than 139 million volunteers have taken part since 2018, across 211 countries and territories. The movement's goal is to mobilise 5% of the world's population — roughly 400 million people. It is a direction for mobilisation rather than a guaranteed threshold.
Read about Strive for FiveBringing an organisation?
Schools, companies, cities and NGOs can bring their people into one coordinated local action, and partners can reach the global team directly.