Volunteers in Nine European Countries Tackle Illegal Trash in April


Hundreds of thousands of people in nine European countries will take to local towns, streets, beaches and countryside on six dates in April to achieve a clear cut goal: cleaning up illegal trash. The events are part of the growing Let’s Do It! World Cleanup civic initiative.

Belarus will lead the way with garbage collection on April 9th, followed by cleanup events in Cyprus, April 10; the Czech Republic on April 16, and Greece, April 17. Croatia, Ukraine, Lithuania and Latvia have scheduled cleanups for April 23rd, and Hungary will close out the month’s activities on April 28th.

These Let’s Do It! events are leading up to a massive 150-country-strong World Cleanup Day that will take place on September 8, 2018.

“Let’s Do It! is a movement that engages people in a sustainable life-style and pushes companies and governments to design waste out of the system as it is today. To shift outdated waste management practices and tackle the billions of tonnes of trash polluting nature around the world, we are organising a global cleanup day on the 8th of September 2018,” commented Eva Truuverk, Board Member of Let’s Do It Foundation and one of the founders of the movement.

“The aim is to empower people from Japan to Hawaii to have a positive impact, creating a change in thinking and a better livelihood for all. We have already engaged 14 million people in our cleanup actions, but we really want to tell the world ‘wake up!’ This is not just an aesthetic issue. It affects the entire ecosystem, polluting drinking water, destroying wildlife and harming human health and well-being,” she continued.

Since 2008, Let’s Do It! actions have brought together volunteers from Bolivia to Libya and Cote d’Ivoire in Africa, to Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Let’s Do It World is the outcome of a massive volunteer initiative, pioneered in Estonia in 2008, when 50,000 volunteers turned out on May 3rd to take a stand against trash, much of which had been accumulating in the northern European country’s forests. 10 000 tonnes of waste was cleaned up in just 5 hours, saving the government 3 years of work and 22,5 million Euros. The idea quickly caught on and has since spread globally, with over 100 countries having developed massive cleanup events.

Eva Truuverk adds: “In Estonia, and in many countries, civic action groups have grown out of the initial cleanup campaigns, undertaking other projects; they are also instigating educational forums and events to address the longer-term issues, not just environmental concerns, affecting communities.”

To follow upcoming cleanup actions, please visit the web site of Let’s Do It! World: www.letsdoitworld.org. Photos of various cleanup events around the world can be found at the Let’s Do It! World Media Bank: mediabank.letsdoitworld.org

Let’s Do It! World is supported by the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Estonian Ministry of the Environment, Skype, QlikView, Tallink Group, DHL Estonia, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Interlex Translations, Meedius Estonia, Sendsmaily and EuroPark Estonia.

More information:
Meelika Hirmo
Let’s Do It! World
Head of Public Relations & Communication
Phone: +372 504 1258
E-mail: meelika@letsdoitworld.org
www.letsdoitworld.org