Saturday is World Clean-Up Day, and although we shouldn’t need a specific day designated to encouraging us to pick up the litter in our communities, 2020 has gifted us with a lot of other things to worry about. So not only is a reminder to pick up some garbage at the park is actually helpful right now, but it’s also one very tangible thing we can do to improve our community particularly when it seems like so much is out of our control.
The effort is being led by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, an international non-profit organization dedicated to exactly what it sounds like—putting an end to plastic waste in the environment. All you and your kids really need to get involved is some trash, an app, and a desire to live on a cleaner planet.
To fully participate in the clean-up, download the Litterati app (for iOS or Android). Enter the code CLEAN to join the World Clean-Up Day challenge. Head out into your community—walk around your neighborhood, school grounds, park or other community gathering areas—and pick up some trash.
Take a picture of the litter you collect to share with the Litterati community. (The challenge’s goal is 100,000 pieces of trash collected.) And finally? Throw that garbage away!
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Although the official World Clean-Up Day is Saturday, Sept. 19, the challenge will be ongoing from Sept. 18—Oct. 3. Whenever you and your kids see some trash, bust out your phone, take a picture, and dispose.
Of course, the app is really intended to help connect you with other trash-collectors to feel like a part of a bigger challenge—but you could always skip that part altogether and simply pick up and throw away any trash you come across. We should really be doing that anyway, whenever possible.
If your kids are extra into trash and want to learn more about the global plastic waste problem, there are more resources on TED-Ed for them to check out.
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