The Great Global Cleanup
What Earth Day Means Around the World: Voices from 6 of Our Great Global Cleanup Partners
April 1, 2026
Earth Day 2026 is less than one month away, with the EARTHDAY.ORG official theme this year being “Our Power, Our Planet”. In preparation for the holiday, the Great Global Cleanup team has been connecting with international organizations and partners to offer support and gain inspiration.
The Great Global Cleanup connects thousands of volunteers and organizations around the world; people with different stories, goals, and meaning behind their work. Each organization we work with is unique, and we wanted to highlight the impactful, diverse actions they are all doing to help lead the charge in creating a waste-free world. We asked a few of our partners firsthand why they believe cleanups are important and what Earth Day means to them, and here’s the inspiring words they shared with us:
The Great Raleigh Cleanup: Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
In Raleigh, North Carolina, a mighty group called The Great Raleigh Cleanup works tirelessly to enhance the community by picking up litter throughout the city. They organize a variety of programs, including their Workforce Program, which offers unhoused people employment opportunities to pick up trash on roadsides, parks, and other locations. In addition to $18/hour, they also receive a free meal. No matter what the program is, TGRC brings the community together to make a difference.
Preston Ross, the organization’s Founder and Executive Director, is the leading voice behind the scenes. EARTHDAY.ORG has worked with Preston and TGRC for the past few years, and it’s been amazing to see how they inspire their community. Preston puts it into words best, and shares their plans for Earth Day this year:
Earth Day and working with EARTHDAY.ORG matters because it reminds us that this work is bigger than Raleigh and bigger than any one cleanup.
Preston Ross, The Great Raleigh Cleanup
For us, organizing cleanups isn’t just about picking up trash. It’s about bringing the community together and showing people that they have power. When neighbors, businesses, and our Workforce crew show up together, you can actually see change happen in real time.
Cleanups are simple, grab a bag, start picking, but the impact is real. Cleanups build community. Cleanups restore pride. They remind people that taking care of the planet starts right outside your front door.
And that’s what Earth Day means to us.
This Earth Day we are planning to bring together Raleigh residents, housed and housing insecure, together to impact an area that serves the unhoused.
The Clean Wave: Tamarindo Costa Rica
In Tamarindo on the pacific coast of Costa Rica, The Clean Wave organizes community-based cleanup events on both land and sea, focused on protecting coastal ecosystems and advancing zero-waste solutions. The organization emphasizes the idea that meaningful environmental change begins at the local level, taking collective action while contributing to a larger, global movement. Whether in town, on the beach, or scuba diving in the ocean, members and volunteers of this organization are fully dedicated to creating a cleaner environment.
Hear from Andres Bermudez, The Clean Wave’s President and CEO, on why Earth Day is important to Costa Ricans:
For The Clean Wave, Earth Day is a powerful reminder that the ocean’s health is a reflection of our community’s actions. To us, it represents the ‘Pura Vida’ philosophy in its purest form, a commitment to a zero-waste lifestyle where nature and humanity thrive in balance. Organizing cleanups is the heartbeat of our movement because they transform passive concern into tangible impact; when a volunteer pulls plastic from a reef or a beach, they aren’t just cleaning, they are reclaiming their power to protect the ecosystems that sustain us.
Andrés Bermudez, The Clean Wave
Global Alliance on Environment: Ghana, West Africa
Global Alliance on Environment is a fast growing movement dedicated to environmental education outreach. Through a partnership with Ghana Education service, they organize school visits in the East Bono region of Techiman, West Africa, with the goal of educating and empowering youth to join the conservation movement. They also organize local community cleanups and Earth Day events to engage residents across Ghana.
CEO Enock Mustapha plays an active role in the outreach programs, working diligently to mobilize the younger generation. He shares his ideas on environmental change:
The Earth doesn’t need a few people doing everything perfectly; it needs millions of us showing up, caring, and taking action together. When a community unites for the planet, small steps become powerful waves of change.”
Mustapha Enock, Global Alliance on Environment
Thus, every event focused on the Earth—whether it’s a clean-up, tree planting, climate talk, or conservation activity—matters because it brings people together. One person’s effort may seem small, but when a whole community participates, the impact multiplies. Shared action builds awareness, inspires others, and creates real environmental change.
In simple terms, one person can plant a tree, a community can restore a forest, and a united world can protect the planet.
The Litterboom Project: Cape Town, South Africa
Founded in 2017, The Litterboom Project is an organization working year round to intercept trash in local rivers before it reaches the ocean. By identifying hotspots, the team wades into the river currents, cleaning up the water. While they do the bulk of the work, local volunteers are encouraged to attend their public cleanups, where they can clean up local beaches and make the crew’s job easier!
Casey Pratt is one of the team members working tirelessly to prevent ocean pollution. She shares the importance of getting involved not only on Earth Day, but year round:
Earth Day is a valuable moment to pause and reflect on the kind of world we are shaping through our daily choices. At The Litterboom Project, it is also a reminder that caring for the environment is not something reserved for one day on the calendar. It is steady, practical work that happens week after week. This year, our focus is on getting people involved in tangible action through our clean-up efforts, while continuing to highlight the bigger picture that waste does not appear in the ocean by chance. It moves through systems, waterways and communities, which is why our source-to-sea approach remains so important.
Casey Pratt, The Litterboom Project
Earth Day matters because it gives people a chance to reconnect with that responsibility and realise that environmental change is not only driven by large organisations or policy. Getting involved helps turn concern into action, and action is where momentum begins. Whether that means joining a clean-up, changing consumption habits or simply learning more about where waste comes from, every step helps build a healthier relationship between people and the places we all depend on.
River Cleanup: Antwerp, Belgium
River Cleanup is a global organization with a community of over 100 countries. By using their own Clean River Model, which integrates solutions for plastic-free rivers, they work to prevent new plastic pollution and permanently remove waste from their lands. Their River Watchers program invites citizens and schools to help monitor plastic pollution in rivers through AI-supported waste recognition.
On top of that, they hold both public and private cleanups across multiple countries, encouraging communities to get involved. Sarah Van de Walle and her team speaks on the mission of River cleanup:
For us at River Cleanup, Earth Day is a reminder that protecting our planet starts with protecting the rivers that connect us all. Every piece of plastic we prevent from entering a river is one less piece entering our environment, our ecosystems, and ultimately our own bodies.
Sarah Van de Walle, River Cleanup
What gives me hope is what happens when communities act together. Real change starts with individuals who take responsibility. When thousands of small actions come together, they become a movement.
This Earth Day 2026, we are mobilizing citizens through River Watchers, inviting people across Belgium to map plastic pollution by simply taking a photo and uploading it at riverwatchers.be. This data helps scientists understand where waste accumulates so we can act faster and more effectively.
At the same time, we are organizing cleanups worldwide with volunteers and partners, because data and awareness must lead to action. Anyone can join a cleanup through river-cleanup.org or even organize their own cleanup and be part of the solution. Earth Day is not just about reflection — it is about participation.
Earth Day Network India: India and South Asia
EARTHDAY.ORG’s India team implements year-round programs that engage everyone from community-based organizations to government leaders, with efforts extending across South and Southeast Asia and strengthening collaboration in over two dozen countries.
India generates about 5.6 million tons of plastic waste annually, much of it unmanaged. To address this, EARTHDAY.ORG India partners run citizen-led initiatives to end plastic pollution, including cleanup events around the region.
Karuna Singh is the Regional Director of Asia for EARTHDAY.ORG, leading diverse teams to build partnerships and deliver climate initiatives tailored to local needs. Singh adds:
Earth Day is a powerful reminder of our shared responsibility to care for the planet, especially in India and across Asia, where rapid growth makes environmental action more urgent than ever. It brings communities, leaders, and young people together to address challenges like plastic pollution and waste management, while highlighting the importance of cleanups as a direct way to remove harmful waste and protect wildlife and waterways.
Karuna Singh, EARTHDAY.ORG
Cleanups also help people better understand the scale of the issue and inspire lasting behavior change. More than a single day, Earth Day is about turning awareness into collective action and building momentum for a more sustainable future.
Join the Movement
From the rivers of Belgium to the reefs of Costa Rica, the message from our partners is clear: change happens when people show up.
This Earth Day, you don’t need to travel far to make a difference. A cleanup near you could be happening right now. Whether you’re a seasoned volunteer or picking up a trash bag for the first time, your action matters, and it connects you to a global community of millions doing the same.
Find a cleanup near you on the Great Global Cleanup Map, or even register your own cleanup event. Together, we are “Our Power, Our Planet.”