On Saturday during the Great Cleanup, not only was trash collected — among the finds were old mattresses, furniture, and tires — but parks and nature trails were also improved, said the agency LETA representative of the organizers, Aiva Rozenberga.
The work took place in 1,195 officially declared locations, but it is known that so-called individual participants also took part in the event. Their exact number is unknown, but the organizers estimate that there could have been several hundred. Participants gathered in all municipalities of Latvia.
According to Rozenberga, the events were characterized by great diversity. Traditionally, trash was collected, but more and more local communities were engaged in improving areas — tidying up parks, creating nature trails, and restoring benches.
On the Grāpiu Peninsula in Riga, where Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, ambassadors from 12 countries, and cadets from the Latvian National Defense Academy also participated, a children's bicycle, various metal items, as well as mattresses, tires, and furniture were retrieved from the water.
The removal of trash from the cleanup sites began today. Rozenberga emphasized that individual participants must deliver bags of waste to designated municipal locations.
The organizers note that representatives from all over Latvia participated in the video contest of the Great Cleanup "Green, where are you?" In the school category, the winner was the Liepāja Secondary School named after Jānis Čakste, and among the participants of the Song and Dance Festival — the folk dance ensemble "Vaduguns" from Liepāja.
As previously reported by the research company "Fifty5Blue," one in five residents of Latvia (21%) planned to participate in the Great Cleanup this year: 6% — definitely, and another 15% — probably.
Survey data shows that compared to 2024, this year there has been a significant increase in the proportion of residents confident in their decision to participate or not participate: the share of those who definitely plan to participate increased from 3% to 6%, while the share of those who definitely will not participate rose from 32% to 38%, with overall figures over the two years remaining largely unchanged.
The Great Cleanup is organized by the public organization "Pēdas LV" in collaboration with the Ministry of Climate and Energy, the Union of Latvian Municipalities, "Latvian State Forests," and the Song Festival Society.
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