On the road we walk every day,
our friends did something amazing

12 organizations are taking part

• Geochang Heungsadan
• Daegu Metropolitan Youth Training Center
• Experiential Learning Research and Development Association, Daegu Education Project Group
• Suseong-gu Youth Culture House
• Yeongjong-gu Youth Training Center
• Majungmul Small Library
• Jeongeup Youth Training Center
• Daegu Buk-gu Youth Center Foundation
• Gacheon Youth Volunteer Group
• SALT International school
• Chungcheongbuk-do Youth Development Institute (Open Award Center)
• Wondangsan Youth Culture House

On the school roads of Geochang-eup, what was where?

Every time a piece of litter is picked up, its location is saved. We put the 337 location points collected during the campaign on a map. The picture in each circle shows the most common type of litter at that spot, and the number shows how many items were picked up.

The map shows the school roads of Geochang-eup, South Gyeongsang. Three high schools and a middle school sit side by side here, and students walk these roads every morning and evening.

The most litter was found on the sidewalk in front of a school gate.
There were 72 items piled up at that one spot alone. This is what the road we pass every day really looks like.

📮 The data on cigarette butts, which made up nearly half of all the litter collected, will be sent to the Geochang-gun environment department on behalf of the participating award centers and young people.

Award news from around the world

On the same day, young people around the world also did their part to care for the planet.

• 
  70thThe Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Foundation70th anniversary challenge

  To mark its 70th anniversary, the Foundation named World Cleanup Day on September 20 an official anniversary challenge. Participants around the world cleaned up their own neighborhoods on the same day.

  intaward.org

• 
  UNUN World Cleanup DaySeptember 20

  After it became an official UN international day in 2024, 25 million people in 190 countries took part in cleanups on the same day last year alone.

  un.org, worldcleanupday.org

• 
  UKNews from the UKTaking part

  In the UK, the award joined the global World Cleanup Day campaign to mark its 70th anniversary. HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, Chair of the International Award Foundation's Board of Trustees and Patron of DofE UK, also picked up litter together with local award participants, young people and community groups to share the meaning of World Cleanup Day.

  instagram.com/dofeuk

• 
  IDNews from IndonesiaTaking part

  In Indonesia, about 1,000 young people, including award participants and alumni, gathered on Jalan Sudirman for World Cleanup Day. They went plogging and sorted the waste for recycling, collecting a total of 175 kg of litter.

  instagram.com/intaward.indonesia

With 70 years of history, The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award now runs in more than 130 countries.

Leaving our footprints and showing we care in 74 cities and counties across Korea

1~2829~103104~361362~912913~3,3943,395+

September 7 to 20: the first two weeks of the campaign

As of September 21, a total of 299 participants have picked up 79,493 pieces of litter since the campaign began on September 7. That adds up to 873 activities, 1,915 km walked, and cleanups logged in 172 towns and neighborhoods. The campaign continues until October 31.

Top 6 areas by items picked up

1

2

3

4

5

6

Top 5 types of litter

• Cigarette butts 43,988
• Paper 7,995
• Plastic bags & wrappers 7,457
• Mixed waste 6,316
• Plastic 4,170

Across the country, cigarette butts were also the number one item found, making up 59% of the total. That is more than the other eight litter types combined.

Turning litter into knowledge

What we do on World Cleanup Day is saved as data. That data helps us understand why certain litter appears in certain places, along with the social and economic reasons behind it.

Where

209-1 Bonggok-dong, Gumi, Gyeongbuk (photo on the left)

When

September 19, 2026, 6:37 p.m.

That day

In this one activity, 234 items

What

Single-use delivery containers (plastic and Styrofoam), plastic bottles, drink cans (aluminum), cardboard shipping boxes, drink cartons

On the left, single-use delivery containers and shipping boxes were bagged together. On the right is Hyeonggok-dong in Gumi, early that same morning. When you compare the items from the two cleanups, the difference is clear.

• Cigarette butts are the most common item, anytime and anywhere
  They ranked first in both the evening (60%) and early morning (48%), matching the Gumi average.
• Evening in Bonggok-dong: 'drink it, then drop it' containers
  We found 4.1 times more plastic bottles than the Gumi average, 1.8 times more cans and 1.4 times more plastic. This matches the single-use delivery containers seen in the photo.
• Early morning in Hyeonggok-dong: lots of packaging
  We found 25.7 times more plastic bags and wrappers than the evening amount in Bonggok-dong, and 1.7 times more than the Gumi average.

We can't draw conclusions from just one visit. But if we keep tracking the same litter in the same places, we can finally understand where, what and why it piles up. That data helps us decide where change should begin.