560 Volunteers Join Digital Cleanup Across Gulf Cities

The Dawoodi Bohra community across the Middle East marked World Environment Day with a large-scale “Digital Cleanup Drive,” successfully removing more than 15.6 terabytes of unnecessary digital data in a coordinated 10-day campaign.

The initiative, organised by the community’s global philanthropic arm Project Rise in partnership with Estonia-based Let’s Do It World, spanned seven cities across Bahrain, the UAE, Oman and Kuwait, engaging over 560 participants.

Participants collectively deleted 15,685 gigabytes of redundant data from personal and professional devices, including old emails, duplicate photos, unused applications and digital trash files. Organisers estimate the effort could help prevent approximately 3.13 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

In Bahrain alone, more than 174 community members took part in the initiative. Volunteers also set up a tech support kiosk in Manama to assist residents in clearing device storage, while outreach teams visited neighbourhood shops to raise awareness about digital sustainability.

Organisers highlighted that although digital data appears intangible, its environmental impact is significant due to the energy required for data storage and cloud infrastructure. They noted that the global technology sector contributes up to 4% of greenhouse gas emissions, comparable to the aviation industry, and that even one gigabyte of unnecessary stored data can generate around 200 grams of CO₂ annually.

The campaign also marked the first time the Middle East was officially included on the Digital Cleanup Day world map, reflecting growing regional participation in digital sustainability efforts.