"Clean Up the World" 2024 is back

Environmental protection, cleaner and more liveable cities, active citizenship and a sense of community but also the promotion of peace, respect for diversity and social and climate justice, as underlined by the motto "For a climate of peace": the 32nd edition of Puliamo il Mondo returns throughout Italy, from 20 to 22 September , the historic environmental volunteer campaign organized in Italy by Legambiente to clean up abandoned waste from green areas, streets, squares, river banks and beaches. Thousands of events are scheduled from the north to the south of the country and this year too they will feature citizens of all ages, students, administrations and companies, committed to making a concrete gesture for the environment. The great weekend of Puliamo il Mondo will open tomorrow, 18 September, at 10:30, with the preview organized in Naples at Piazza Garibaldi. A symbolic place – highly frequented, a crossroads of cultures and contradictions and the protagonist of an urban and social regeneration project – that will see in action , equipped with gloves and bags, the volunteers of Legambiente and of several 13 voluntary associations adhering to the initiative : Italian Red Cross, Italian Caritas, Dedalus social cooperative, Erasmus Student Network, Catholic Action, the signs of the times, Un Ponte Per, Agesci, Focsiv, Centro Astalli, the Palestinian community, Action Aid, Libera . All together united also to launch a message of peace.

Park litter data, waste in urban parks : In view of the official “start” of the campaign, Legambiente once again denounces the scourge of waste abandoned in urban parks by publishing the data from the new park litter survey: in 2024, 20,757 pieces of waste were collected and catalogued by volunteers in the 42 transects carried out in 35 urban parks in 12 cities (Ancona, Bari, Caltanissetta, Codigoro (FE), Florence, Milan, Moncalieri (TO), Naples, Perugia, Pineto (TE), Rome, Turin). Approximately 5 pieces of waste for every square metre monitored . Among the most found waste , cigarette butts remain in first place (11,077, 53% ), followed by bottle/jar caps and can tabs (1,436, 7% ). Grouped by material category, 74% of the waste dispersed in the parks can be traced back to artificial polymers (plastics) for a total of 15,452 wastes, 8.6% to metal (1,787 wastes), 8% to paper and cardboard (1,603), 6% to glass and ceramics (1,154), 4% to other types of waste. Note that the category "other identifiable but not listed plastic objects" consists of confetti (1,101, 5% of the total waste), objects that are used to celebrate but that spread very easily in the environment, even transported by the wind, and can cause a serious environmental problem.

Waste accumulation areas : Legambiente also highlights that the main waste accumulation areas in urban parks remain mostly under or near benches and picnic tables and bins . Wind remains the main cause of waste dispersion in the environment, combined with the fact that bins are often uncovered. Only in 19 out of 42 transects (46.3%) Legambiente found this characteristic useful in preventing the dispersion of material. Waste that often reaches the sea through drains and channels from urban parks.

“In Italy the scourge of abandoned waste is not stopping. – he declares Giorgio Zampetti , general manager of Legambiente -. For 32 years, with Puliamo il mondo, we have been promoting information and awareness on the issue of abandoned and dispersed waste by promoting tools and solutions to increasingly reduce its presence and organizing active citizenship initiatives in defense of the environment, giving back, thanks to volunteers, to the community cleaner, more welcoming and also more inclusive places. In fact, with the motto "For a climate of peace", the campaign wants to promote and support a society that promotes peace and inclusion, according to the principle that a citizen of a place is someone who takes care of it, through respect for diversity, rejecting war, every form of prejudice, violence, hatred and discrimination. We look forward to seeing you this weekend, together we can make a difference".

Puliamo il Mondo is the Italian edition of Clean up the World, which Legambiente has been organizing since 1993. In addition to traditional cleaning activities, this year too Legambiente volunteers will organize monitoring in urban parks to estimate the quantity and type of waste collected in green areas thanks to the valuable involvement of active volunteers from companies and schools. The issue of marine litter pollution is also in the spotlight, underlining how the waste emergency at sea depends on our habits and production and consumption models on land.

Clean Up the World events . Among the main events in Italy, Friday 20 September , in Minturno (LT) , a cleaning event and narration of historical events at the archaeological site of Minturnae as part of Appia Day 2024. In Caltanissetta , the clean up activity of the area surrounding the PalaCannizzaro and the Tomaselli Stadium and, in the afternoon, of the area in front of the square of the Statue of the Redeemer and the perimeter area below (Monte San Giuliano). Saturday 21 September in Amandola (FM) , as part of the BeComE project, cleaning of the village of citizens and schools and, to follow, the information event on the CER and the implementation project in Amandola; and again at the beach of Punta Vagno (GE) to discover how a scientific cleaning works accompanied by a moment of analysis on the origin of the waste. In Manduria (TA) cleaning of the coast and the protected area of the nature reserve. Sunday 22nd September , at San Stino di Livenza (VE) the inauguration of the Permanent Exhibition “Impronta Insostenibile”, which collects waste found on the Veneto beaches. A way to inform and denounce the issue of marine and beach litter; and again Clean Up the World will be in the Matese Regional Park with an appointment at Lake Matese (CE). Among the main events of Sunday 22nd September, in Umbria, cleaning activities along Lake Trasimeno together with volunteers and local administrations. The Life Blue Lakes project will also be discussed. In Fiorano Modenese (MO) cleaning of the three neighboring parks: Foibe park, XXV aprile and Rea verde “ex case mighetti” to raise awareness on the issue of park litter.