On World Cleanup Day, MEDWISE goes beyond cleanup to focus on prevention: reducing food and organic waste, supporting citizens through digital tools, and turning residual materials into valuable resources across the Mediterranean.
On WorldCleanupDay (20th September), people around the world come together to remove waste from our streets, natural areas and communities. These actions are essential for protecting our environment and raising awareness about pollution.
But cleanup alone is not enough. To tackle the problem at its source, we also need to change the way we produce, consume and manage resources. In other words, the best waste is the waste that is never produced.
Within the MEDWISE project, waste prevention and circularity are at the heart of this transition. Rather than acting only after waste has been generated, MEDWISE works upstream, promoting solutions that help reduce waste generation and keep valuable resources in use for longer.
How?
Across the Mediterranean, these preventive actions can make a real difference. Moving from a linear take–use–discard model towards a circular one means reducing pressure on natural resources, limiting waste generation and creating value from materials that would otherwise be lost.
On World Cleanup Day, MEDWISE therefore looks not only at what needs to be cleaned up today, but also at how we can prevent tomorrow’s waste from being created in the first place.
Prevention is where circularity begins.
Last Update
18/09/2026
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