Bishkek, Sept. 25, 2020. /Kabar/. A large-scale environmental campaign dedicated to the World Cleanup Day has come to an end in Kyrgyzstan.
The republic for the third time joined the global movement under the auspices of the Let's Do It international organization, this year along with 180 countries of the world. The Eco Demi Public Foundation, country partner of the action in Kyrgyzstan, summed up the work of the volunteers.
The volunteers of the World Cleanup Day told about how the pandemic affected the country's ecology.
Chairwoman of the “Eco Demi” PF Venera Mambetmusayeva: "Despite the fact that the pandemic has made it very difficult to hold a mass clean-up day, 20 thousand people all over the country joined the campaign. All together, the action participants collected 590 tons of garbage, of which 290 tons, mainly plastic and glass, were sent for recycling, the remaining waste was taken to municipal landfills".
Preparation for the global campaign took several months, during which Eco Demi Foundation, with the help of partners and volunteers, held weekly clean-ups in all oblasts, identified problem areas and worked with municipal authorities.
Executive Director of the Enactus Kyrgyzstan NGO and member of the Eco Demi organizing committee Gyulbarchin Suiunova says: We expected this year that the population would be passive, but a pleasant surprise was the fact that the campaign was still supported by about 300 public and commercial organizations, as well as many stat bodies. We have provided training and organized the collection of garbage.
According to the public foundation, the problem of improper waste management has become more acute all over the world because of the pandemic, but in Kyrgyzstan the lack of eco-culture has become more evident than ever. Many times more than usual volunteers collected garbage in places of traditional rest of Kyrgyzstanis - in mountain gorges, on the banks of rivers, lakes and in park areas. Dozens of tons of plastic containers, food remains, used hygiene products and other wastes turned the nature of the country into one big dump.
The organizers especially emphasize the role of team leaders, who voluntarily took on the tasks of selecting areas for cleaning, coordinating volunteers, monitoring their compliance with sanitary standards.
Aida Bekturova, the eco volunteer, team leader of the Let’s Do It! campaign: “In 2020, in addition to the overall goal of cleaning the planet from domestic waste, the task of volunteers of the Let’s Do It! campaign on World Cleanup Day was to collect 1 billion butts. Cigarette filters are the main contaminant, exacerbating the problem of combating microplastics, which the world faces today.
World Cleanup Day (aka WCD) is an annual global social action program aimed at combating the global solid waste problem, including the problem of marine debris. It is coordinated by the Estonian organization Let's Do It! World. In 2020, the World Cleanup Day was celebrated on Sept. 13.
In the previous two years, Kyrgyzstan was ahead of the rest of the world by the number of volunteers involving the global cleanup, becoming the undisputed leader of the action.
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