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Twenty adults and three children at Lenzburg AG collected 75.5 kilograms of waste on Global Cleanup Day, separated and disposed of correctly at the end. 55.5 kilograms of waste could be recycled.
Specifically, it included: 10,850 cigarette butts, 304 aluminum cans, 434 PET bottles, 68 glass bottles, 41 batteries, and 113 masks.
Inspire others
Nicholas Hänny (29) and Robin Gnehm (28) are the founders of the sustainable fashion brand Nikin, which is based in Lenzburg AG. They organized the cleanup in their city. “We also wanted to give something back to Lenzburg,” says Hänny across the street from VIEW. Students of industrial and business design have known each other since childhood.
Astonished, Hänny says: “The amount of garbage that we have just collected from the street is incredible, and that in Switzerland, where it is actually clean.” By cleaning, you want to inspire other people to live sustainably. “People spontaneously thank us,” he says, hoping this will lead to a rethink.
The main waste violators are large events
The environmental organization Oceancare, Trash Hero Switzerland, Hydroheart and Tauchsport Käser collected half a ton of waste in Lake Zurich with 218 helpers, 65 of whom were divers. The findings: a mini electric car, 28 e-scooters, twelve bicycles (four of which are e-bikes), two Fermob chairs, a grill, several cell phones, hundreds of PET bottles, glass bottles, plastic bags and, here too, disposable masks.
“The amount of waste we collected this year was half that of last year. The top waste violators are obviously the biggest events, ”says Fabienne McLellan (40), head of the plastics program at Oceancare to VIEW. Nonetheless, the Zurich party crowd made up for it after closing: the countless plastic cups, aluminum cans and fast food containers they found were surprising. “Most shocking was the electric car that sank into the lake and testifies to a whole new form of ignorance,” says McLellan.
Cigarette butts everywhere
“We are also very concerned about cigarette butts. We collected 52,000 cigarette butts, which corresponds to about 13 kilograms. One piece contaminates 1000 liters of water, ”explains Corinne Bucher, director of cleaning projects at Oceancare. 2.5 kilograms of cigarette butts were found in the city of Lenzburg.
We are all part of the solution
The exact amounts of waste are not yet known, but these cleanup campaigns are important, because they awaken and raise awareness, organizers agree.
“We want to raise awareness about our consumer behavior, especially among our young customers,” says Hänny. Or as Oceancare says: “We are all part of the solution.”
