Clean up the World weekend

Developed with the support of Google, Clean Up the World's technology partner, the new website http://activities.cleanuptheworld.org will give participating groups the chance to profile and share their environmental activities as part of the Weekend and the year-round campaign.

The Australian founder and chairman of the campaign, Ian Kiernan AO* said many of this year's Clean Up the World Weekend activities will be focused on limiting the impacts of climate changes under the campaign's theme 'Start today-.Save tomorrow-Clean Up Our Climate'.

"Tens of millions of people around the world taking simple actions is the perfect first step towards protecting the Earth for our future generations," Mr Kiernan said.

"All over the world people are seeing the devastating effects of climate change. Clean Up the World provides every person and every community with the opportunity to do something about it."

Last year, one NGO alone, US-based Ocean Conservancy International, organised 378000 volunteers from 76 countries. In one morning, they cleared three million kilograms of trash and recorded every piece collected.

In the organisation‘s annual report, senior vice-president Laura Capps said the world‘s oceans were “sick”.

“Our ocean ecosystem cannot protect us unless it is healthy and resilient. Harmful impacts like trash, pollution, climate change and habitat destruction are taking their toll.

“The good news is hundreds of thousands of people are starting a sea change by joining together to clean up the ocean. Trash falls from people‘s hands (not the sky). With International Coastal Clean-up Week, everyone has an opportunity to make a difference.”

The local campaign will join an estimated 35 million volunteers from 110 countries across the globe. Gibraltar’s fourth participation will see well over 400 volunteers from 20 different organisations, schools, services and businesses.

During the Clean up the World weekend several areas around Gibraltar will be targeted with teams picking up tons of discarded rubbish. Areas will once again be transformed and will include action from underwater and abseiling teams. This widespread clean up will send a strong message to both the community and to Government that our natural spaces are of value to our community.

The Nasza Ziemia foundation is encouraging participants of this year’s campaign to clean up Polish forests – something that the state spends up to 10 million zlotys a year on. According to the organisers this money could be spent on something else if Poles stopped littering their environment.

 

The volunteers will not only clean up the woods but also will try to promote refuse separation and recycling in Poland as is done in western European countries..

Not only does trash sully the country's beaches, it is a serious threat to marine life. Over 1.1 million animals and birds each year either are strangled to death when they become entangled in garbage or else die when they ingest it. The most dangerous debris is discarded fishing gear, especially fishing line.

Ocean Conservancy uses the event to raise awareness and encourage more ecologically friendly behavior year-round. This year, the event will take place worldwide on Saturday, but in Israel on Friday.

Ocean Conservancy promotes healthy and diverse ocean ecosystems and opposes practices that threaten ocean life and human life.

Through research, education, and science-based advocacy, it "informs, inspires, and empowers people to speak and act on behalf of the oceans".