Monaco once again joined millions of people worldwide on Saturday for World Cleanup Day, turning a small principality into a big example of collective action for the planet…
Organised by the Mairie de Monaco in partnership with the Société Monégasque d’Assainissement, the annual “Clean Up Day” invites residents and officials to roll up their sleeves and remove waste from public spaces. This year’s rendezvous began at 9:30 a.m. at the Marché de la Condamine, where volunteers of all ages were handed gloves, bin bags and special containers for cigarette butts before setting off on two routes of varying difficulty.
The aim, organisers said, is to show that environmental stewardship is not only about government policy but also about everyday gestures. “It’s important to mobilise residents, young and old, to demonstrate that sustainable development is a shared responsibility,” one official noted as participants dispersed through the district’s streets, planters and stairways. To make the initiative more inclusive, the town hall offered a shorter itinerary with elevator access alongside a more demanding climb.
After more than an hour of searching and sorting, volunteers reconvened at Parc Princesse Antoinette to weigh and categorise their finds. This year’s “catch” highlighted a familiar problem: cigarette litter. Around 750 cigarette ends were collected; small in size but potentially devastating to marine life and water quality, with a single butt capable of polluting up to 500 litres of water. In total, the morning yielded about six kilograms of household waste and half a kilogram of recyclable packaging.
Though modest compared with larger nations, Monaco’s Clean Up Day shows how even a densely built city-state can rally residents for a greener, cleaner environment. Last year’s edition collected more than 20 kilograms of waste, and organisers hope the growing visibility of the event will encourage more people to take part in daily anti-litter habits year-round.
