The story was reported by GDN Online on June 14, 2026.

A ten-day grassroots campaign spanning seven cities across four countries reveals the hidden carbon footprint of our everyday internet habits.

More than 174 individuals in Bahrain benefited from a digital decluttering initiative, highlighting the negative impact of unwanted data on the environment and our gadgets.

The campaign marked World Environment Day, which is annually celebrated on June 5, and was part of a wider event conducted by the Middle East Dawoodi Bohra community.

The 10-day programme, leading up to the global observance, engaged more than 560 participants across seven cities in four countries and resulted in 15,685 gigabytes of data being deleted from personal and work devices. The freed storage is estimated to prevent approximately 3.13 tonnes of CO₂ emissions every year.

Bahrain’s Dawoodi Bohra community champions, led by eco-warrior Arwa Sitabkhan, joined the event alongside counterparts in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman in the UAE, as well as Muscat and Kuwait.

It was organised by Project Rise, the Dawoodi Bohra community’s global philanthropic initiative, in partnership with the Estonia-based Let’s Do It World (LDIW).

“We received a good response and have been able to help so many people,” Ms Sitabkhan told the GDN.

“As I cleaned people’s caches, their phones started working faster. Just one simple Facebook application has a cache of around two to five gigabytes. Imagine how much pressure this puts on the environment – and your phone – cleaning up space also helps to increase the longevity of our devices. People end up buying additional Gmail storage but all we need to do is delete unwanted data,” she added.

The drive invited participants to complete one practical task each day over 10 days. These tasks ranged from deleting old emails and clearing duplicate photos in the opening days to cancelling dormant subscriptions, auditing cloud storage, and emptying digital trash folders by the end of the campaign.

In Bahrain, young volunteers set up a kiosk at their local community centre located near Andalus Garden where residents could bring their phones and laptops to receive hands-on help clearing unnecessary data. Teams also visited neighbourhood shops and small businesses in Manama to declutter unwanted data, and encouraged friends and family members to adopt sustainable digital habits.

“Most people had no idea their old emails and unused apps were actually harming the environment. Once we explained that the cloud is a physical place consuming electricity, they were completely on board and eager to start deleting,” said 19-year-old volunteer Ruqaiya Shafiq, who helped run the Manama kiosk.

Ms Sitabkhan noted that whenever we download a file or image, there are servers that make it happen and these run on electricity, causing carbon emissions. According to LDIW, storing 1GB of unwanted data typically generates about 200gm carbon dioxide every year.