EARTHDAY.ORG’s Great Global Cleanup Mobilizes Communities Worldwide

Momentum Builds for Lasting Action on Reducing Waste and Ending Plastic Pollution

Washington, DC – The 2026 Great Global Cleanup, the world’s largest volunteer event, took action in 190 countries and thousands of communities in April 2026. Beginning in the 1970s, Earth Day has led the cleanup movement and built the transition from neglect of industrial waste to demand for a cleaner, healthier planet. Just since 2019, billions of people have joined the Great Global Cleanup removing hundreds of millions of tons of trash and plastic debris from beaches, waterways, neighborhoods, parks and city streets. With results still coming in, 2026 ranks as the biggest year ever with a 40% increase in registrations on EARTHDAY.ORG’s global event map.

“Cleanups matter because tracking activity does more than remove litter from streets, shorelines, and waterways,” said EARTHDAY.ORG president Kathleen Rogers. “They help build public awareness, strengthen civic engagement, and contribute to the infrastructure of reporting and accountability needed to support smarter decisions at the local, national, and global level.”

In the United States, EARTHDAY.ORG’s Underserved Communities initiative is helping ensure that cleanup resources, funding, and attention reach neighborhoods bearing disproportionate environmental burdens.

• In Detroit, with partner Detroit Hives, abandoned city lots are being turned into green spaces, new parks and pollinator habitats.
• In Raleigh North Carolina, the Great Raliegh Cleanup Workforce Program offers unhoused people paid jobs cleaning up trash on roadsides, parks, and other locations.
• In North Philadelphia, partner Block by Block Philly reduces illegal dumping and increases neighborhood pride while providing resident education and youth programming.
• In Miami, EARTHDAY.ORG joined together more than 20 local partners to host a Biscayne Bay cleanup and supported local leaders in advancing plastics reduction and environmental justice in South Florida

Together, underserved-community cleanups like these demonstrate how The Great Global Cleanup turns volunteer action into lasting benefits for public health, local economies, and community power.

Globally from Kenya to Antwerp, The Great Global Cleanup is driving environmental restoration and equity in communities most affected by pollution.

• In Tamarindo Costa Rica, community cleanups led by The Clean Wave advance zero-waste solutions on land and under water.
• In Ghana, the Global Alliance on Environment and Ghana Education service combines school visits with community cleanups to educate and empower youth.
   In Cape Town, South Africa, The Litterboom Project works with EARTHDAY.ORG to intercept trash in local rivers before it reaches the ocean.
• In Antwerp Belgium, River Cleanup uses AI-supported waste recognition to integrate solutions for plastic-free rivers, remove waste and prevent new plastic pollution. 
• At Lake Victoria in Kenya, Earth Day Ambassador Rahmina Paullete Oyugi and her youth-led organization Kisumu Environmental Champions combine shoreline cleanups and tree planting to restore degraded coastlines.

Looking ahead, the momentum of Earth Day 2026 will continue when Rotary clubs around the world take part in the EPIC Day of Service. Later this year, EARTHDAY.ORG will again partner with World Cleanup Day to build a year-round rhythm of action that keeps litter and plastic pollution at the center of public attention and strengthens the framework needed for smarter decisions at the local, national, and global levels.

Help build a waste-free world. Event registrations are always open at https://www.earthday.org/actions/register-a-cleanup/.

CONTACT:

Katherine Bruchalski: [email protected]

Evan Raskin: [email protected]