Through World Cleanup Day, our global movement proves that when millions awaken to their power to create change, when consciousness shifts from me to we, when purpose replaces despair, and when collective action becomes collective identity—then, transformation is not just possible, it is inevitable.
On 20 September 2025, across 190 countries representing 90% of UN member states, millions of people stepped away from their routines to clean up the world together. Over the past seven years, World Cleanup Day has mobilised more than 114 million volunteers, but the true impact extends far beyond the tonnes of waste collected. Science reveals that this global movement is awakening humanity to new possibilities—changing how we see ourselves, each other, and our shared capacity to solve the waste crisis.
Research shows that collective environmental action—as explained by the ‘Social Identity Model of Pro-Environmental Action’—transforms how people see themselves and their role in protecting the planet.1, 2 When individuals join movements like World Cleanup Day, they shift from viewing themselves as isolated consumers to feeling part of a collective working towards planetary restoration.
This change in identity is lasting. Participants report enduring shifts in attitude and behaviour, with new environmental values influencing their everyday lives long after the cleanup ends. It is not just about picking up litter—it is about awakening to a fundamentally different relationship with our planet.
At the heart of this transformation is ‘collective efficacy’, the belief that by acting together as a group we can make a difference. When we witness large groups uniting for a single cause—two million Americans, or 631,000 Germans, for example—and making a tangible impact, like the communities in Cambodia transforming plastic-choked rivers into clean ecosystems, our sense of what is possible changes. Research in the Journal of Environmental Psychology confirms that people who believe their collective efforts matter are more likely to continue taking environmental action.3 World Cleanup Day helps turn ecological despair into ecological action, and anxiety into purpose.
Let’s Do It World has set an ambitious goal: to engage 5% of the global population in World Cleanup Day. Research by Erica Chenoweth on social movements shows that when a committed minority reaches a critical mass, entire systems can shift.4 This is not just about more cleanups—it is about reaching the point where new approaches to waste and resource use become inevitable.
World Cleanup Day is the beginning, not the end. The event raises awareness and mobilises people, but lasting impact requires systemic change in waste management, production systems, and consumption patterns. The empowerment and ‘collective efficacy’ developed through World Cleanup Day provide the foundation for this deeper engagement. Participants leave with a stronger environmental identity, greater belief in collective power, and networks of relationships that support continued innovation. They begin asking bigger questions: ‘How do we prevent waste creation?’, ‘How do we redesign production systems?’.
What makes this movement sustainable is that caring for the planet also nurtures human wellbeing. The social connections, sense of purpose, stress reduction, and empowerment that come from environmental action generate genuine joy. Participants continue not from guilt, but from the psychological rewards of meaningful contribution. This alignment between planetary healing and human flourishing allows the awakening to grow and spread.
Collective action creates psychological change, which drives behavioural change, which, multiplied across millions, leads to cultural and systemic transformation. World Cleanup Day has demonstrated this progression—from 50,000 volunteers in Estonia to 114 million across 211 countries and territories. The research is clear: this awakening is real and accelerating.
Bhutan is an inspiring example of World Cleanup Day activities transforming the local community far beyond its environmental impact. Famous for measuring Gross National Happiness and constitutionally protecting 60% forest cover, Bhutan still struggles with waste in its steep mountains, limited infrastructure, and growing tourism zones.
But, led by the organisation SHE-Cycle Solutions, over 6,000 Bhutanese have joined World Cleanup Day activities. They transform cleanups into cultural celebrations, focusing on pilgrimage routes and sacred water sources that reflect Buddhist environmental values. Local monasteries and schools lead the way.
These cleanups sparked bigger changes: plastic-free policies, waste education programs, and a women's empowerment initiative. At Panbang Eco Lodge, the Women Recycling programme now trains women from underserved communities in waste sorting and recycling techniques. These women become both environmental stewards and entrepreneurs—creating sustainable products and earning independent livelihoods.
This isn't theoretical hope—it's measurable transformation. Women who had limited economic opportunities now run recycling businesses. Communities that cleaned up pilgrimage sites now ask: "How do we prevent this waste from being created?" The movement grows because it delivers dual rewards: environmental healing and human flourishing through economic empowerment, cultural pride, and strengthened community bonds.
The joy participants experience isn't from guilt-driven obligation—it's from meaningful contribution that improves their lives while protecting what they hold sacred.
When we act collectively for environmental good, we change our neural patterns, social bonds, and sense of what humanity can achieve together. We move from me to we, from consumer to steward, from despair to agency. We discover that ordinary people have extraordinary power when united by shared purpose. And we begin to see waste not as inevitable, but as a design flaw we can collectively solve—through new systems, new norms, and new ways of living.
So, when next September approaches, remember: you are not just picking up litter. You are participating in a global awakening of human consciousness! You are proving that humanity can come together to care for our shared home—and to design waste out of existence.
The awakening has begun. Let’s do it!
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