Waste collected on the Dnipro riverbanks in Ukraine © Vyacheslav Rozhon, Ukraine’s State Agency of Water Resources
Each September, millions of people in more than 150 countries get together to clean up riverbanks and seashores to mark International Clean Beach Day (#EUBeachCleanup).
EUWI+ co-organised and supported several activities this year linked to International Clean Beach Day (#EUBeachCleanup) in Ukraine and in Moldova.
“Love your river” in Chisinau, Moldova on 21 September
Under this slogan, a clean-up took place on the Bâc riverbanks. The event was organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment of the Republic of Moldova.
Clean-up action in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova © Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment of the Republic of Moldova
Extensive Dnipro clean-up in Kyiv on 21 September
On 21 September, a major clean-up took place on the Dnipro riverbanks in the country’s capital of Kyiv, along with the inauguration of a new bench made of recycled plastic, called “Modna Lavka” (Cute bench). Together, the participants collected 0.8 tonnes of waste.
Bench “Modna Lavka”, made of recycled plastic
Hundreds gathered along the Dnipro’s riverbanks to collect plastic waste, including local citizens, schools and environmental NGOs. Among them was the EU Ambassador to Ukraine, Matti Maasikas, and his family. Also present were Iryna Ovcharenko, Head of State Agency of Water Resources, and Mykola Kuzyo, Deputy Minister of European Integration at the country’s Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Matti Maasikas, EU Ambassador to Ukraine
Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) from Ukraine joined in the activities to promote action against river and sea waste among young people across the country.
“I cleaned – Your Turn-2: Changing our Future Together” spurs clean-up initiatives across Ukraine
From 16 to 30 September, a social media challenge is underway entitled “I cleaned – Your Turn -2: Changing our Future together”. The challenge aims to draw attention to the threat of waste for rivers and seas and show how plastic pollution in rivers ends up in the Black Sea. So far, more than 140 clean-ups have taken place all over Ukraine, involving more than 3,000 people.
A cartoon has been produced by EUWI+ and another EU-funded project EMBLAS-Plus to announce the challenge and inspire participants to send in before and after photos.
I cleaned - your turn2 from Yunona Videnina on Vimeo.
This year’s campaign in Ukraine is organised jointly by EUWI+ and another EU-funded project, EMBLAS-Plus (“Improving Environmental Monitoring in the Black Sea: Selected Measures”), with support from the EU Delegation to Ukraine and the United Nations Development Programme in Ukraine. The campaign is implemented in cooperation with Ukraine’s State Agency of Water Resources, Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Education and Science.
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