22 • 09 • 2008
260 000 garbage bags collected on clean-up day in Latvia
During Lielā Talka (clean-up day in Latvia), which was organized under the motto "A clean and green country – a present given to Latvia on the 90th anniversary” more than 260000 garbage bags were collected according to information received from waste managing companies and waste polygons. It is three times bigger than amount calculated on September 13, 2008. The first calculation was based on reports sent by local coordinators. Around 50000 people have joint their efforts on big clean-up day in Latvia.
The Patron of Liela Talka, President Valdis Zatlers expressed his gratitude to all participants for their support. „ I am very satisfied that Liela Talka has shown the responsible attitude of our people and their willingness to make our country greener and cleaner. This is a great and remarkable present, which has been given by every participant of clean-up day to Latvia on the 90th anniversary,” says President. He proposed to organize clean-up day every year.
Coordinator of campaign, the leader of project „Pēdas” (footprints) Vita Jaunzeme emphasises that caring about our country is a joint mission. „ When waking up on Sunday, I had a feeling like some one has opened the window to let in fresh air and the huge dose of positive attitude and thinking in Latvia. I would not like to lose this feeling. Nevertheless the amount of garbage that has been collected makes us to think how we lived littering our homeland on such a scale. Now Latvia has become more beautiful. Also world has become more beautiful. And I hope that we all have become smarter, says Vita Jaunzeme.
During the last week all municipalities organized the clearing-off and transportation of collected garbage to polygons. Taking into account the fact that cleaning campaign also took place outside the territories of municipalities; organizers asked all inhabitants send information to e-mail
On September 13, 2008 the big clean-up day activities took place in 512 places, comprising 364 local municipalities. And it does not even include those people who worked in various spots along the Latvian coastline, in forests, private properties and in municipalities, which did not officially register for the campaign. A volume of one collected bag is 50- 60 litres.
The organizers of the event are: the project “Pēdas “( footprints), the Latvia’s Union of Municipalities and the group “Clean Forests” in cooperation with the Chancellery of the President of Latvia, the State Chancellery, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Defence, the Council of Latvia’s Artists societies, the Latvian Environmental Protection Fund, “Latvia’s State Forests”, “ Latvia’s State Roads” and “Latvia's Green Dot”. The patron of this campaign is the President of Latvia, Valdis Zatlers. He together with his family also participated in this clean-up day.
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