Dear Leaders and Teams of the Let’s Do It World family!
Let’s Do It World NGO (LDIW), the Estonia-based global environmental organisation that launched World Cleanup Day, is excited to introduce our 2025 campaign “Strive for Five!” – a revolutionary, science-backed approach to environmental transformation that harnesses the power of critical mass for lasting societal change.
The 8th annual World Cleanup Day will take place on 20 September 2025. Building on our successful inclusion in the United Nations Calendar of International Days & Weeks, we continue expanding our global reach and impact through strategic community mobilization.
Our campaign is grounded in breakthrough research from Leeds University demonstrating that just 5% of committed individuals can influence entire communities toward positive change. This critical mass becomes the catalyst that transforms individual efforts into unstoppable social movements addressing our global waste crisis.
Rather than trying to reach everyone at once, we’re strategically building networks of environmental champions in every community who naturally influence the remaining 95% through their actions, connections, and advocacy. When you join World Cleanup Day as part of this crucial 5%, you become more than a volunteer – you become a catalyst for systemic transformation.
Each year, humanity generates 2 billion tons of municipal solid waste, with projections showing a 70% increase by 2050 without urgent action. Over 3.5 billion people lack access to efficient waste management systems, with much of their waste ending up in nature, seas, and oceans through river systems.
“‘Strive for Five!’ represents a breakthrough in how we approach environmental action,” explains Heidi Solba, LDIW CEO. “Your participation creates ripple effects that extend far beyond the waste you personally collect, fostering the behavioral changes that prevent waste creation in the first place.”
Our 2024 campaign achieved remarkable success with participation from 198 countries and territories, engaging 19.1 million volunteers and collecting 218,704 tons of waste. Notable achievements included Mozambique’s record-breaking 10% population participation and significant increases in youth engagement globally, with Estonia reporting 92% youth participation.
These results demonstrate our strategy’s effectiveness, with educational programs being integrated into school curricula worldwide and increasing government participation at all levels. The emergence of society-driven initiatives toward circular economy principles shows that the critical mass strategy creates sustainable behavioral changes needed for long-term environmental protection.
For 2025, we expect tens of millions of volunteers from almost every nation to participate in building the 5% critical mass needed for lasting transformation. Each cleanup site becomes a demonstration of how strategic action by committed minorities creates widespread environmental consciousness and policy change.
As an accredited member of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN Environment Assembly (UNEA), LDIW received the UN Sustainable Development Goals Group’s Mobilization award in 2023, recognizing our vital role in addressing global environmental challenges.
Join us in proving that when 5% of people unite for change, they create the tipping point that moves entire societies toward a waste-free future. Together, we’re not just cleaning up today’s waste – we’re building tomorrow’s environmental leaders.
