Basque citizens pick up more than 9 tons of litter during the Let’s Clean Up Euskadi! campaign!

14/07/2026

More than 2,200 people have taken part so far this year in clean-up initiatives organised across the Basque Country to help keep natural and urban areas clean and raise awareness about waste prevention. 

The Let’s Clean Up Euskadi! public campaign for litter-free environments runs all year round. 

The Let’s Clean Up Euskadi! campaign continues to get local people, educational establishments, companies, associations and public administrations involved in working towards cleaner, healthier environments. The campaign is organised by Ihobe, the Basque Government’s public environmental management company, as part of the European ‘Let’s Clean Up Europe’ initiative, and promotes clean-up and environmental awareness-raising activities aimed at preventing littering and fostering a greater sense of shared responsibility for looking after the environment.  

The initiative carried out a wide range of activities across the country during 2026. So far, 18 entities have organised 44 clean-up activities, which have carried out on and around beaches, rivers, mountains, parks and other natural and urban areas across the Basque Country, with 2,225 volunteers, who have helped to remove more than 9,000 kilograms of litter.  

Beyond the quantitative results, the campaign has one key objective: to raise awareness about the importance of keeping areas free of litter and encourage more sustainable habits in relation to consumption, waste prevention and the proper management of resources.  

The initiative reached a significant milestone on 6 June, coinciding with World Environment Day, when litter and microplastics were cleaned up in and around various natural environments and beaches, such as San Antonio beach, and via the activities carried out by the Basque Country’s Network of Environmental Centres, Ekoetxea. 

Around fifty organisations, educational establishments and companies have already joined this initiative, and are working to set up new litter picking and environmental awareness campaigns. 

Collective action against littering 

Every year, millions of tonnes of waste end up being dumped in natural areas around the world. This situation is closely linked to unsustainable production and consumption practices, and a lack of awareness of the environmental consequences of littering or illegally dumping waste.  

In response to this challenge, Let’s Clean Up Euskadi! is promoting public participation as a tool for taking direct action in local areas while encouraging people to reflect on the causes of the problem. Clean-up initiatives make it possible to highlight the quantity and types of litter in the environment and provide an opportunity to encourage more responsible, circular behaviour. 

The campaign’s success is down to the involvement of lots of entities and volunteers who, year after year, help spread the initiative across the Basque Country. These include the Nueva Acrópolis Bilbao association as the organiser of the “Limpiar Paseando” (Clean Up While Walking) initiative, which recently celebrated five consecutive years of clean-up and environmental awareness-raising activities in various natural areas around Bilbao. Their work reflects the sustained commitment of many organisations that have turned environmental action into an ongoing form of public participation.  

An all-year-round campaign 

The campaign will run throughout 2026 and will continue to include new clean-up initiatives in various towns and cities and natural areas across the region. To date, 74 clean-up initiatives have been scheduled, which can be found on this interactive map.  

Ihobe is encouraging members of the public and interested organisations to take part in the planned activities and organise new clean-up days. As well as helping to improve the state of conservation of natural and urban areas, these measures also make it possible to raise environmental awareness and move towards a society that is more committed to waste prevention and the circular economy.  

Full details of the campaign and the planned activities are available on the Ihobe website: https://www.ihobe.eus/es/euskadi-garbia#lets-clean-up-euskadi.