2013
20 • 06 • 2013
2,079 cubic metres of litter removed from state forests in 2012
2,079 cubic metres of litter were removed from state forests last year, an amount equal to 11 freight wagons. A total of 8,088 cubic metres of 46 freight wagons of litter were removed from Latvia's forests during the past four years. Despite various clean ups and informative campaigns, many people continue to behave like pigs and the amount of litter in state forests remains large, according to the statistics of “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) and Cūkmens (Pigman).
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2,088 cubic metres of litter were collected in state forests in 2010, a 6 percent increase on 2009, when 1,957 cubic metres of litter were picked up. Most often, people leave plastic bottles, wrappings, household waste, paper and cardboard-based items in forests, on roadsides or in picnic areas.
This year, encouraging residents to preserve Latvia's treasure – forests – and do not litter, Cūkmens continues his campaign “Do Not Litter In Forests!”. To assess the amount of litter and man-made mess in Latvia's forests, Cūkmens measures it in actual objects - freight wagons, planes, the Powder Tower, the clock tower of the Riga Railway Station and others - a creative way to describe the amount of litter left by residents in state forests.
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“Even though a discarded plastic bottle or a bubble gum wrapper may seem no big deal to some, by continuing behaving like pigs, Latvia risks becoming a huge pile of litter during the next ten years. I am convinced that, by being aware of the amount of litter in forests and measuring it in actual objects, everyone will realize how important it is to not litter but participate in joint clean ups and the fight for clean forests and roadsides,” explains Cūkmens.
Percentage-wise, the largest amount of litter was collected in Latgale during the past four years – 32 percent, followed by Zemgale – 25 percent, Vidzeme – 22 percent, and Kurzeme – 21 percent.
2,542 cubic metres of litter were removed from Latgale's forests during the past four years, an amount equal to one-and-a-half Riga Railway Station clock tower. 2,048 cubic metres or 316 “Laima” clocks of litter were collected in Zemgale. 1,783 cubic metres of litter were removed from Vidzeme's forests, roadsides and picnic areas – a half of the Powder Tower. 1,715 cubic metres of litter were picked up in Kurzeme – four-and-a-half planes full of litter.
Additional information:
Ilze Meirupska phone: 28377234 e-mail:
