Italian
The bad weather last May did not stop the volunteers from 32 municipalities for the fourth edition of “Let’s Clean the Basin” by Venice Environment
Venice – More than a thousand people worked to clean up their territory, removing over 1000 kilograms of waste including glass, plastic, cans, paper, and some abandoned items. This is the result of activities carried out over several days during the weekends of May 15-16-17, 22-23-24 and exceptionally, due to bad weather, May 29-30-31.
“The results of having established more days for this joint event between organizations are evident in terms of participation – says Claudio Grosso, Mayor of Quarto d’Altino and President of Venezia Ambiente, the promoting body of the event. This is a sign that as administrators and citizens we are united in working together for cleaner cities and to develop environmentally respectful behaviors.”
Among the recovered materials, in addition to the classic cigarette butts, packaging, and bottles, this year there were also a variety of more unusual items such as chairs, drying racks, broom handles, appliances, a television, a fruit crate, a buoy, iron, a leaf spring suspension, tires, a stove, a whole barbecue, a sink, wood, and used condoms.
There are also various garments, one of the most harmful types of waste to disperse in the environment and among the most complex to recycle, so much so that rather than being thrown away, they should be donated if in good condition.
Among the municipalities involved in activities this year, there has been a high participation from schools, which engaged their students from Campagna Lupia, Cavarzere, Gruaro, Fossalta di Portogruaro, Pramaggiore, Quarto d’Altino, and San Donà di Piave.
In addition to local associations, organizations such as Ca’ Foscari University, Legambiente, Plastic Free, and WWF have also been involved, with as many as eight cleaning events organized in the municipality of Venice alone.
In Mirano, the initiative was also an opportunity for integration, with the participation of asylum seekers welcomed in the municipal area, accompanied by the association Echi, with which a moment of awareness was held dedicated to the importance of waste separation thanks to a cultural mediator.
Venezia Ambiente every year is committed to providing insurance coverage, consumables such as gloves and bags, as well as tongs and useful gadgets for activities for all the administrations in the basin, precisely to encourage these events throughout the year.
“As an organization, we believe in this type of initiative for civilization and awareness – explains Grosso – in just a few years we have achieved significant numbers with the ambitious goal, which we are close to, of involving all 45 municipalities that make up our area, namely the entire Metropolitan City of Venice and Mogliano Veneto.
The message we want to convey is not limited to cleaning days, but to the importance of proper behaviors, as those of some “smart” individuals are always lurking at the expense of the common good and force us to add extra interventions that inevitably affect the rates.
For this reason, we continue to say that it is not enough to recycle properly; it is also necessary to dispose of waste at the collection centers in the area, which I remind you are accessible to all citizens in the various municipalities of the basin thanks to the recent introduction of inter-municipality. I thank all the volunteers, teachers, students, associations, and the manager Veritas who support us in organizing “Let’s Clean the Basin” for their commitment.
