Every year on the third Saturday in September, people across the world come together to clean up their local communities, waterways and beaches on World Cleanup Day (WCD). Reported by WorldCleanupDay.org, in 2019, WCD had 21.2 million participants from 180 countries who collected more than 100,000 tons of waste and in 2020, 11 million people participated in events, despite restrictions imposed by the global pandemic.

In 2021, as part of AspenTech’s inaugural events, employees based in offices in Bahrain, Teesside, Bedford, Houston, Reading and Shanghai participated in World Cleanup Day. This year, we are excited to have double the number of offices joining in the cleanup effort. From beach cleanups, to planting trees, to general litter pick up, we look forward to joining volunteers, governments and organizations from 191 countries who are making progress towards removing plastic waste from the environment.

AspenTech team in Bahrain partaking in 2021’s beach cleanup event.

Did you know?

• Every year approximately 8 million tons of plastic finds its way into our oceans from the coastal areas and riversides.¹
• By 2050, the oceans could have more plastic than fish.²
• Plastic debris has been found in all major ocean basins. Even in Antarctica.³
• At least 100 million marine mammals are killed each year from plastic pollution. Plastic pollution affects at least 700 marine species. As many as 50% of sea turtles are ingesting plastic at an unprecedented rate and dying because of it.³

Other Ways to Get Involved

For those interested in going further in personal activities to contribute to the health of the planet, I encourage you to join the Act4SDGs campaign. This United Nations sponsored campaign provides resources and activities to address the 17 Sustainable Development goals that were established in 2015. Each year, the campaign launches a series of challenges and events in advance of the annual opening of the UN session in late September in New York City.

By joining the campaign, you can make personal and family pledges to support specific goals. My goals were simple last year – I took part in the #MeatlessMondays trend and participated in a #Clean4Change community cleanup.

This year, I am supporting the #FlipTheScript program to expand gender equality and improve education opportunities through local and global activities. I challenge you to think about how you can join the effort at home, in your community and at work.

Share your cleanup efforts with us by using #WorldCleanUpDay, #LetsDoItWorld and mentioning Aspen Technology.

Sources:

1. Jambeck, J. R. Andrady, A., Geyer, R, Narayan, R., Perryman, M, Siegler, T.,Wilcox, Law K. L. (2015).Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science 347, 768–771
2. Ellen MacArthur Foundation. https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/the-new-plastics-economy-rethinking-the-future-of-plastics-catalysing-action
3. Cole, M, Lindeque P, Halsband C, Galloway T, 2011. Microplastics as contaminants in the marine environment: A review. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X11005133