World Cleanup Day 2024: Arctic Cities and Marine Litter

The theme of the inaugural event, taking place on 20 September in the city of Tromsø, Norway, is “Arctic Cities and Marine Litter”. The event, convened with support from UN-Habitat, GRID-Arendal, and the Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, the municipality of Tromsø, the Fram Centre, and Let’s Do It World, aims to inspire global communities to adopt sustainable practices that protect the arctic regions.

The Arctic’s delicate ecosystem necessitates focused efforts on plastic and marine litter clean-up. Cities like Tromsø, within the Arctic Circle, face unique challenges due to extreme weather, isolation, and costly infrastructure.

The inaugural World Cleanup Day in Tromsø will showcase Norway’s innovative waste management strategies tailored to harsh climates. The event will highlight the role of innovation, community involvement, and collaboration in creating sustainable waste systems that protect the Arctic environment and contribute to global waste reduction efforts. It will also emphasize the importance of professional cleanups and innovative funding mechanisms in tackling waste management challenges in complex urban settings.

Event map

To celebrate the inaugural World Cleanup Day, Member States, organizations of the United Nations system, civil society, the private sector, academia, youth and other partners from around the world are invited to organize national, subnational, local and neighbourhood activities and events, including creative exhibits, panel discussions, social media campaigns, training sessions and cleanup activities. 

Poor waste management is intrinsically linked to the triple planetary crisis: pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change. Combined, the world is greatly accelerating an accumulation of waste and pollution in all ecosystems and threatening ecosystems’ balances and health.   

Promoting clean-ups in the lead up to and through the international Day is crucial for contributing to the achievement of the goals set out in the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

Find events near you and join the World Cleanup Day movement by exploring the interactive map below.

https://maphub.net/embed_h/hjZpl5EzPGvlplVO?panel=1&panel_closed=1

Resources

Documents

• Res 78/122
• Resolution 2/3: World Cleanup Day (HSP/HA.2/Res.3)
• Rescuing SDG 11
• Waste Wise Cities Tool 
• GWMO2024
• Global Report on SWM 
• The Sixth Assessment Report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Videos

• World Cleanup Day 2024 (by GRID-Arendal)

UN System

• Waste Wise Cities
• African Clean Cities Platform
• One Planet network
• United Nations Environment Programme
• International Environmental Technology Centre
• Features on waste and pollution

Related observances

• International Day of Zero Waste
• World Environment Day, 5 June
• World Habitat Day, first Monday of October
• World Cities Day, 31 October
• World Toilet Day 

Source:

https://unhabitat.org/wcud2024