World Cleanup Day France

What World Cleanup Day France does

World Cleanup Day France is a French nonprofit association (loi 1901) founded in 2017 and headquartered in Lille, serving as the national French chapter of the global World Cleanup Day movement that operates across 190+ countries. The association coordinates two flagship annual initiatives: the physical World Cleanup Day held on September 20 (with cleanup operations running Wednesday to Sunday of that week) and the Digital Cleanup Day held in March. Its mission is to mobilize citizens, schools, associations, businesses, and local governments to collect abandoned waste and raise environmental awareness. The organization operates with a deliberately lean structure — approximately 2 CDI employees, 1 alternant, and roughly 100 volunteers coordinated through a volunteer Bureau, Board of Directors, and a national network of regional ambassadors across metropolitan France and DROM-COM territories.

The core product surface includes the TrashSpotter interactive map (a self-service platform enabling citizens to find, register for, or create cleanup events), a comprehensive organizer toolkit (tutorials, webinars, sorting guides, checklists), a corporate engagement services offering with dedicated permanence sessions, and membership/donation processing via HelloAsso. The underlying technology stack is conventional: WordPress website hosted by OVH, Eventbrite for event registration, and HelloAsso for secure payment processing; the TrashSpotter map is the only purpose-built component. Since 2018 the association has mobilized an average of 174,250 participants per edition, organized more than 31,000 cleanup events, and collected over 7,236 tonnes of waste, and achieved formal UN calendar inscription in December 2023.

The business model is nonprofit and diversified across three streams: annual membership fees (5€ for citizens, 50–800€ tiered for businesses based on headcount, minimum 50€ for schools/associations, and population-based fees for local governments), individual donations (66% income-tax deductible), and corporate mécénat covering financial sponsorship, skills-based volunteering, and in-kind donations (60% corporate tax deductible, capped at 0.5‰ of donor turnover). The go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, anchored on the September 20 and March flagship events, supplemented by festival presence, webinars, PR/media relations, and an enterprise outreach motion targeting French CSR programs. Named corporate participants include Adeo, Auchan, Decathlon, Leroy Merlin, Kiabi, Allianz, Macif, Lactalis, La Poste, McDonald's France, RTE, Ubisoft, Vinci, Crédit Mutuel, and Banque de France, indicating broad but non-exclusive enterprise engagement across retail, insurance, food, logistics, energy, technology, construction, and banking sectors.

Name

World Cleanup Day France

Legal name

World Cleanup Day – France

Website

https://worldcleanupday.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

World Cleanup Day France is a French nonprofit association that coordinates the annual World Cleanup Day (September 20) and Digital Cleanup Day (March), mobilizing citizens, schools, businesses, and local governments across France to collect abandoned waste and advance environmental awareness.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Environmental Mobilization

NAICS

Waste Management and Remediation Services (562), Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services (56), Waste Collection (56211)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Street & Public Space Litter Collection (Municipal Cleaning) (BPALAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Special Event & Venue Waste Collection (Short-Term) (BPALAAAF), Universal Waste Management (Batteries, Lamps, Mercury Devices, Aerosols) (BPALAFAJ)

Keywords

• Citizen volunteer mobilization
• Environmental cleanup coordination
• Waste collection events
• Civic environmental engagement
• Nonprofit environmental programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Lille

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees (Adhésions): Annual membership fees from citizens (5€), enterprises (50€-800€ based on headcount), schools and associations (minimum 50€), and local governments (based on population). Membership grants voting rights in the General Assembly for citizens and liability insurance coverage for cleanup organizers.
2. Individual donations: Direct donations from individuals via HelloAsso secure platform or direct contact. Tax-deductible at 66% of the donation amount for individuals, capped at 20% of taxable income.
3. Corporate philanthropy and sponsorship: Corporate sponsors provide financial support (mécénat financier), skills-based volunteering (mécénat de compétences), or in-kind donations of materials (gloves, bags, grabbers, first aid kits). Corporate donations qualify for 60% tax deduction on corporate income tax, capped at 0.5‰ of annual turnover.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

World Cleanup Day France is a nonprofit association that coordinates annual citizen mobilization events to collect abandoned waste across France. It operates the flagship World Cleanup Day (September 20) and the Digital Cleanup Day (March), supported by a national ambassador network, an interactive TrashSpotter cleanup map, organizational toolkits, and a corporate engagement program. Participants include citizens, schools, associations, businesses, and local governments.

Product overview

World Cleanup Day France operates as a citizen mobilization organization offering two main annual initiatives: the World Cleanup Day (held September 20) and the Digital Cleanup Day (held March). These are supported by a cleanup map platform for event coordination, an ambassador network for territorial outreach, organizational resources and guides for event planning, and corporate engagement services for business participation. The organization functions as a civic platform rather than a traditional software product, connecting citizens, associations, schools, businesses, and local authorities through its event coordination infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• World Cleanup Day Annual international mobilization initiative that coordinates citizen cleanup operations across France to collect abandoned waste, held on September 20 with cleanup operations running from Wednesday through Sunday of that week. Open to citizens, schools, associations, businesses, and local governments.
• Digital Cleanup Day Digital counterpart initiative focused on cleaning digital environments, reducing digital waste, and promoting responsible technology use, held annually in March.
• Annual Membership Program Annual membership subscription (valid January 1 to December 31) available to citizens (5€), enterprises (50€-800€ scaled by headcount), schools and associations (minimum 50€), and local governments (scaled by population). Grants voting rights at the General Assembly for citizens and liability insurance coverage for cleanup organizers.
• Corporate Engagement Services Tailored services for businesses including cleanup organization support, sponsorship opportunities (financial mécénat, skills-based volunteering, and in-kind donations), employee team-building activities, and dedicated 30-minute permanence sessions via Eventbrite. Includes a comprehensive enterprise services offer supported by the Mécénats et financements team.

Quantifiable outcome

• 174,250+ average participants per edition since 2018
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• United Nations (UN)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2023Since December 2023, the UN officially inscribed World Cleanup Day on its calendar of world days, now officially designated as 'World Cleanup Day' / 'Journée mondiale du nettoyage de notre planète' and fixed to September 20 each year. This provides global recognition and legitimacy to the initiative.
• HelloAssocoreTechnology or IntegrationHelloAsso provides the secure payment processing platform for World Cleanup Day France's membership fees and donations. The platform handles credit card data directly, and World Cleanup Day France does not store payment card information.
• OVH SAScoreTechnology or IntegrationOVH SAS provides web hosting services for the worldcleanupday.fr website, with servers located in Roubaix, France (59100).
• World Cleanup Day (global movement)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld Cleanup Day France is the French national chapter of the global World Cleanup Day movement, which coordinates cleanup activities across 190+ countries and aims to mobilize 5% of the world's population.
• CiteominorOthersCiteo provides sorting guides and resources referenced by World Cleanup Day France for proper waste sorting during cleanup events. Their digital sorting guide application is recommended to organizers.
• AdeominorGTM or Marketing PartnerAdeo participates in World Cleanup Day as a corporate organizer, mobilizing employees for cleanup events.
• AllianzminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAllianz participates in World Cleanup Day as a corporate organizer, mobilizing employees for cleanup events.
• DecathlonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDecathlon participates in World Cleanup Day as a corporate organizer with employee programs, including dedicated employee organizers.
• LactalisminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLactalis participates in World Cleanup Day as a corporate organizer, mobilizing employees for cleanup events.
• La PosteminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLa Poste participates in World Cleanup Day as a corporate organizer, mobilizing employees for cleanup events.
• McDonald's FranceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMcDonald's France participates in World Cleanup Day as a corporate organizer, mobilizing employees for cleanup events.
• UbisoftminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUbisoft participates in World Cleanup Day as a corporate organizer, mobilizing employees for cleanup events.
• VinciminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVinci participates in World Cleanup Day as a corporate organizer through certain subsidiaries, mobilizing employees for cleanup events.
• MacifminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMacif participates in World Cleanup Day as a corporate organizer, mobilizing employees for cleanup events.
• Crédit MutuelminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCrédit Mutuel participates in World Cleanup Day as a corporate organizer, mobilizing employees for cleanup events.
• KiabiminorGTM or Marketing PartnerKiabi participates in World Cleanup Day as a corporate organizer, mobilizing employees for cleanup events.
• Leroy MerlinminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLeroy Merlin participates in World Cleanup Day as a corporate organizer, mobilizing employees for cleanup events.
• RTEminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRTE participates in World Cleanup Day as a corporate organizer, mobilizing employees for cleanup events.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Plastic Bank: Global social enterprise that collects plastic waste while providing income to collectors. Comparable in mobilizing people to clean up waste globally and working with corporate partners on sustainability outcomes, though with a more transactional, plastic-token-based model.
• CleanHub: Social enterprise connecting brands with plastic waste recovery via funded cleanup operations in coastal communities. Comparable in offering corporate CSR/brands a turnkey way to fund waste collection and report tonnage, with overlapping target buyer profile.

Direct peers

• Zero Waste France: French nonprofit association with a similar citizen-mobilization model focused on waste reduction, recycling, and abandoned waste. Operates as a loi 1901 association with membership fees, donations, and corporate patronage, targeting citizens, businesses, and local governments.
• L214: French nonprofit association with a similar member-and-donation funding model addressing environmental issues. Comparable in association structure, fundraising mechanics, and French civic-engagement positioning, though focused on animal welfare/industrial farming.
• Ocean Conservancy (International Coastal Cleanup): US-based NGO running the world's largest annual volunteer coastal cleanup. Direct peer in citizen-led waste collection events, donation-based funding, and corporate partnerships around CSR/sustainability, with comparable event-day mobilization scale.
• World Cleanup Day (global movement): Global umbrella organization coordinating cleanup actions across 190+ countries. WCD-F is the French national chapter; the global body operates in the same model (annual cleanup day, citizen mobilization, ambassador networks) and represents both a parent and a peer.

Broad incumbents

• Greenpeace France: Major French environmental association with fundraising, membership, and corporate engagement on environmental issues. Comparable as a French nonprofit with diversified funding streams, though focused on advocacy and campaigns rather than direct cleanup events.
• WWF France: Major French environmental nonprofit covering biodiversity, climate, and pollution. Comparable as a French association raising funds through memberships, donations, and corporate partnerships, but operates at much larger scale and broader scope than WCD-F's cleanup focus.
• Surfrider Foundation Europe: Long-established French/European environmental NGO focused on ocean and coastal pollution through citizen cleanup operations, advocacy, and education. Closest direct peer in terms of mobilizing citizens to collect waste in public spaces, with a broader advocacy and lobbying mandate.

Others

• Citeo: French eco-organization funded by EPR fees that publishes sorting guides and runs citizen education programs on waste. Already a resource partner of WCD-F; comparable as an environmental/stakeholder organization operating in the French waste ecosystem with public-authority reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wcudfrance
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@WorldCleanupDayFrance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/world-cleanup-day-france
• Facebookfacebook.com/WorldCleanupDayFrance
• Instagraminstagram.com/worldcleanupdayfrance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about World Cleanup Day France