COPENHAGEN, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Waste Collection, a week-long national campaign to collect man-made waste discarded in Denmark's nature, culminated this weekend with record-high participation at more than 2,200 collection points across the nation.
Launched in 2006, the Danish Society for Nature Conservation (DN) conserves and maintains the cleanliness of nature by conducting an annual collection of waste with the voluntary help of children and adults.
Interest in the week-long event from associations, companies, and individuals has skyrocketed this year.
Nearly 143,000 children from schools and daycare centers across the country have already been scouring the open landscape, with gloves and a sack, searching for thrown-away waste during the weekdays, according to DN.
And over the weekend, the baton has been passed to adults, with DN anticipating up to 42,000 adults from clubs and associations, extending the collection from the land into the sea.
A particular requirement for all volunteers involved in this year's collection is that they register their waste and even itemize particular recovered articles of interest to DN, who will then make an inventory of how much waste has been collected in 2021.
This year's collection drive focused on takeaway packaging, with all collectors asked to indicate how much takeaway waste they found, and individually count such items like burger papers and coffee cups. In addition, collectors are also being asked to count both the number of drink cans and face masks left discarded.
According to a DN press release, there is particular interest to ascertain the effect of restrictions against COVID-19 that have spurred a growth in takeaway food sales accompanied by an increase in Danes spending more time in nature in 2021.
In 2020, 53,000 kilos of waste were recovered, including 3,300 face masks.
"In several places along the Danish coasts, scuba divers jump into the sea to remove rubbish from the seabed, while on several lakes, canoes and kayaks will fish for waste. Others may prefer to manage their collection from a two-wheeler, and therefore combine the garbage hunt with a bike ride," said the press release.
"We are experiencing an enormous interest in the Waste Collection this year, not least from ordinary citizens who want to give nature and the local area a loving hand, and who therefore have invited family, friends or neighbors to collect garbage," said DN President Maria Reumert Gjerding.
"We are incredibly happy about this, and we look forward to feeling the fantastic commitment we experience every year when the Danes come together to make a difference for nature." Enditem
