Today, London Clean & Green partners, volunteers, and City staff gathered at Westminster Ponds Centre to launch the 28th annual London Clean & Green campaign.
London Clean & Green is a community and business initiative promoting litter prevention and community-led clean-ups across London since 1996. The campaign consists of 12 Days of Cleaning leading up to the annual 20-minute London Makeover and concludes with the Community-wide Clean-up and Earthfest on Earth Day.
“London Clean & Green is about more than just reducing waste and cleaning up litter. It helps bring together Londoners to support the environment, volunteer with their neighbours, and take action against climate change,” says Mayor Josh Morgan. “It takes everyone to help keep our community clean. Thank you to those who have been rolling up their sleeves for this city-wide initiative for the past 28 years.”
If needed, residents and businesses can request bags and gloves to support their community clean-ups, and can request a curbside location for their bagged litter to be collected by the City on April 22.
Participants can also pinpoint and share their clean-up location online to find out where clean-ups are scheduled, invite people to their event, or avoid overlapping clean-ups.
“Head out into your community with a bag and a pair of gloves to help clean up,” says Jay Stanford, Director of Climate Change, Environment and Waste Management. “We are incredibly grateful to all our London Clean & Green volunteers, partners and sponsors, and we are inspired by the example they set now and throughout the year.”
12 Days of Cleaning
Londoners are encouraged to prevent litter and make sure unwanted items are properly disposed of when cleaning up around their home or neighbourhood between April 11 and April 22. As residents tidy up their apartment, clean out their garage, or tackle their spring cleaning, information about the City’s EnviroDepots is available online. Residents can also learn more about what goes where in London’s waste and recycling programs by using the Recycle Coach app.
20-minute London Makeover
Local businesses, institutions, schools, and individuals are encouraged to spend 20 minutes collecting litter and tidying up outside their workplace or home. Across London, participants will spend just 20 minutes sweeping, tidying, and making a big difference together in their community.
The 20-minute London Makeover takes place Friday, April 21, 2023 with many doing their part starting at 2p.m.
Community-wide Clean-up and EarthFest
The annual Community-wide Clean-up takes place Saturday, April 22 from 9 a.m. until 12p.m. and involves numerous community-led clean-ups across London.
To celebrate Earth Day, London’s second annual EarthFest then takes place from 12 p.m. until 5 p.m. to promote environmental action and local organizations. EarthFest will be held on Dundas Place (near Wellington Street), inside the London Public Library’s Central Branch and at Citi Plaza.
Reducing waste and cleaning up in the community are a few of the many ways residents can engage with the City’s environmental programs and take action on climate change. Learn more about London’s Climate Emergency Action Plan and different actions households can take.