Around 35,000 volunteers did on Saturday Rhein and on other rivers rubbish collected. “We had an unsafe one Weather forecastthat may have held off one or the other “, said the initiator of the day of action” RhineCleanUp 2021 “, Joachim Umbach. He is very satisfied with the number of participants. The self-set goal – over 40,000 participants – will still be achieved, as many of the 470 groups would not start until this Sunday, for example in the Switzerland or in the Netherlands.
The amount of garbage collected could Umbach initially do not provide any specific information – especially since the responses were very different. At Mosel and Middle Rhine The amount of waste has increased significantly, which is related to the flood disaster in mid-July. It was also noticeable that larger pieces of garbage were collected.
Last year were loud Umbach 320 tons have been collected across Europe. This number will certainly be reached again this year, if not exceeded, he said in a preliminary balance sheet.
The “CleanUp 2021” is no longer just about that Rheinbut also to other rivers. Among other things, the banks of Mosel, Ruhr, Main, Lahn and Kinzig (Baden-Wuerttemberg) from Rubbish to be freed. The campaign aims on the one hand to prevent even more plastic waste from entering the oceans, on the other hand to raise awareness rubbish not just throwing it into the environment. According to the Oberes association Middle Rhine Valley experts assume that only the Rhein 380 tons every year plastic in the North Sea washes.
According to the information, the “CleanUp winner” was this year Düsseldorf with around 3000 participants, Mainz and Cologne with around 1000 volunteers each in second place. The flow results in detail: Rhein (29,000 participants), Mosel (7000), Ruhr (6000), Main (2000), Nahe (800), Lahn (200), Kinzig (Baden-Wuerttemberg/ 200), Wiese (200), Neckar (50). According to the organizers, a total of 470 groups in over 200 municipalities wanted to take part.
The Rhineland-Palatinate climate protection minister Anne Spiegel (Greens), who took part in the action, spoke of an important signal to heighten the population’s awareness of the extent of the littering of the landscape and the effects on bodies of water. Plastic pollution and its consequences in the water ecosystems are particularly worrying, she said.
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