World Clean Up Day in Brussels 

On the 17^th of September, Brussels celebrated World Cleanup Day.  World Cleanup Day harnesses the power of people - from citizens to business, government, to regular everyday citizens- to tackle the global waste problem through various cleanup activities.

The UN Environment Programme Office in Brussels took part in two cleanup activities to mark the day.  On 17 September, together with staff members from the United Nations Team in Brussels, the European institutions, and a friendly volunteer Smurf, we undertook an #EUBeachCleanup action in the City center.  This year the campaign, which is an initiative of the European Union in partnership with the United Nations, had a specific focus on youth and was themed “United against marine litter”. Veronika Hunt Safrankova

The City of Brussels joined in for World Clean Up Day to help the City’s sweepers and honour the work they do to maintain a clean city. The Brussels NGO Canal It Up also joined on the World Clean Up Day initiative. Every week with new volunteers from Canal It Up goes fishing for trash in the canals with Kayaks. By doing this they directly improve the problem of the sewage overflows and allow to drastically improve the water quality of the canal. Read more about them here. 

Every minute, the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into our ocean, much of it entering from land via rivers. 1000 rivers are accountable for nearly 80% of global annual riverine plastic emissions.   On a rainy afternoon, staff members from various UN in Brussel agencies and volunteers gathered in light of World Clean Up Day to clean the Brussels Canals. Approximately 20 bags of plastic and rubbish were collected from in and around the Canal itself.

Staff members of UN in Brussels agencies, EU Commission, UNEP and many volunteers helped the City of Brussels Road sweepers clean the streets. The cleanup was done in context of the #EUBeachCleanUp Campaign, which is a European Union initiative in partnership with the United Nations and our blue friends the Smurfs. This year, in celebration of the 2022 European Year of Youth, they are more than ever focusing on how to empower young people to become active in the campaign. Over 20 bags of street waste were collected overall by the volunteers.

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About #CleanSeas

UNEP launched the Clean Seas campaign in February 2017, engaging governments, the general public and the private sector in the fight against marine plastic pollution. Over five years, the campaign addresses the root-cause of marine litter by targeting the production and consumption of non-recoverable and single-use plastics. To do this effectively, citizens need to be aware, engaged and active in addressing the problem in their daily lives and beyond.

About #EUBeachCleanUp

Every year in September, the EU organizes an ocean-activism and awareness-raising campaign- #EUBeachCleanup- featuring events across the world. Preparing for the UN conference on biological diversity, this year’s campaign is dedicated to protecting and celebrating the rich life of the ocean.