The global cleanup weekend of 19 and 20 September 2026

Why the dates line up

Saturday 19 September and Sunday 20 September 2026 form the busiest cleanup window in the September calendar. Several campaigns use the third Saturday of September, while World Cleanup Day falls on the following Sunday. Other events stretch across the surrounding week, so a local group can take part even when the headline date does not fit.

The names are not interchangeable. The International Coastal Cleanup is a worldwide beach and waterway movement led by Ocean Conservancy and local coordinators. National CleanUp Day is the United States event on 19 September. World Cleanup Day is the global observance on 20 September. The same volunteer group may join more than one campaign, but its report should say which one it joined.

Saturday 19 September

The International Coastal Cleanup brings volunteers to beaches, rivers, lakes, and other waterways around the world. Participants can use Ocean Conservancy's map to find a local coordinator. Its Clean Swell app lets volunteers record individual items, adding local observations to a wider marine-debris dataset.

The United States marks National CleanUp Day with activities in parks, trails, beaches, mountains, neighborhoods, and other open spaces. California Coastal Cleanup Day runs from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at sites across the state, including inland waterways. Jamaica's International Coastal Cleanup and Rathtrevor Beach in British Columbia add local coastal actions to the same Saturday.

The date also falls inside South Africa's Clean-Up & Recycle SA Week and the opening weekend of the Great British Beach Clean. Those campaigns show why a single date does not tell the whole story. Some events are national programmes, and others are local actions inside a longer campaign.

Sunday 20 September

World Cleanup Day 2026 will focus on food waste under the theme From Clean Plates to Clean Cities. UN-Habitat lists Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province, China, as the flagship observance, while activities take place in communities around the world.

The European Union's #EUBeachCleanup uses 20 September as its key date, but its campaign accepts events from 23 May through 31 October. The campaign includes beaches, rivers, lakes, and urban places. Brazil's Dia Mundial da Limpeza, Mauritius Cleanup Day, and a Copenhagen cleanup involving land and water are among the local activities listed for the day. Whiffin Spit on Vancouver Island also has a cleanup on 20 September.

No coast nearby? Start inland

Ocean Conservancy points out that litter picked up from a sidewalk, stream, park, or neighborhood can help protect waterways because trash travels. The European Commission makes the same point in its campaign guidance. An inland cleanup can be relevant to marine pollution when the report identifies the drainage route, stream, river, or flood path that connects the place to the coast.

Choose a site that the group can access safely and legally. Do not enter fast water, unstable banks, traffic lanes, contaminated areas, or private land without permission. Check weather, heat, tides, local wildlife, and waste-disposal arrangements before people arrive.

Record more than the bag total

• Name the event or campaign and save the official registration or organizer link.
• Record the exact place, date, start and end time, shoreline or path length, and the area covered.
• Count item types when the organizer provides a standard list. Keep a bag estimate or total weight in a separate field.
• Note weather, recent storms, access conditions, nearby drains, river mouths, bins, ports, fishing activity, and other site clues.
• Photograph the site before and after with participant permission, and do not photograph people who have not agreed to appear.
• Document what happened to the collected waste. Removal is not the same as recycling or recovery.

Make the weekend useful after it ends

A cleanup can remove litter and still leave the cause untouched. Compare the item categories with the place. If drink containers cluster near a sports field, the next step may be a bin or refill point. If fishing gear collects on one stretch, the useful contact may be a harbor authority or fishing organization. If stormwater brings the same packaging to a stream, a municipal drainage team may need the record.

Add the place to Garbamons, link the related event, and say what was observed. A careful local record is more useful than a dramatic total with no location, method, or follow-up.

Sources

• Ocean Conservancy: Cleanups & International Coastal Cleanup

  Official International Coastal Cleanup description, map, Clean Swell app, and cleanup data guidance. (LINK_ONLY)

• UN-Habitat: World Cleanup Day 2026

  Official 20 September date, 2026 theme, flagship observance, and food-waste focus. (LINK_ONLY)

• UN-Habitat: World Cleanup Day activity registration

  Official registration route for local activities and global participation. (LINK_ONLY)

• National CleanUp Day

  United States date, event finder, registration, reporting, and site types. (LINK_ONLY)

• California Coastal Commission: Coastal Cleanup Day

  California date, statewide format, time window, and local-partner information. (LINK_ONLY)

• European Commission: EU Beach Cleanup

  20 September key date, campaign window, inland cleanup guidance, and event-list instructions. (LINK_ONLY)

• Marine Conservation Society: Great British Beach Clean

  18 to 27 September dates and the beach-clean and litter-survey format in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. (LINK_ONLY)