Kenya to join 150 other nations in World Cleanup Day

Kenyans will be among millions of people in over 150 countries, who will  Saturday stand up against global waste pollution by cleaning up cities and towns.

Community neighbourhoods, parks, rivers, forests, and beaches will also be cleaned to mark the World Cleanup Day.

World Cleanup Day is organised by Let’s Do It World (LDIW) – a global movement that supports and connects a new generation of community leaders, who are ready to act together to find lasting solutions to the waste problem in their countries.

Kenya's World Cleanup Day leader Christine Sayo said the historic civic engagement has inspired more than 100,000 volunteers from across the country, who will participate in the activity.

“We will be cleaning our immediate and biophysical environment. As we approach the exercise with overwhelming excitement, we should know that the cleanup is not only a sweeper and a groundbreaker but a unifier of people from diverse backgrounds against trash and climate change impacts,” she said.

Promoting the campaign under the hashtag #KeepItClean, Sayo said:  “Humans are the only species who have managed to generate something that cannot be used by the rest of the ecosystem — waste.”

Heidi Solba, LDIW president and Head of Network said 80 per cent of the plastics that floats in our oceans today have come from land, so  there is need  to start there— working hand-in- hand with local communities.

 “The overall goal of World Cleanup Day is not only to pick up waste, but to also raise awareness of the severity of the global climate crisis, drive behaviour changes, and encourage companies, organisations, and governments to adopt more sustainable environmental policies.”

Solba said their regional networks and county coordinators will participate in the cleaning exercise in all the counties.

“The clean-up events are a wonderful way to create immediate change, while also introducing the mismanaged waste issue and inspiring politicians, businesses and communities to implement steps toward lasting change,” said Solba.

This year’s commemoration will see thousands of communities act together as one, creating a powerful ‘green wave’ of clean-ups spanning from New Zealand to Hawaii and lasting for 36 hours.

Last year in Kenya, the day was marked alongside the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), which has been held consistently for the past 30 years with the goal of collecting and documenting trash littering the coastline. -KNA