Translated material
Garbage collected by volunteers on the shores of Lake Baikal was transported in KAMAZ trucks
On the coast of Lake Baikal on Sunday, hundreds of volunteers from Irkutsk collected and sent for disposal more than one and a half thousand 130-liter bags of garbage left by tourists, reports the organizing committee of the environmental campaign “360 minutes for Baikal.”
“Garbage collection took place simultaneously at 22 points in four territories around Lake Baikal: on the shore of the Small Sea, on Olkhon Island, in Buguldeika Bay (Irkutsk Region) and near the village of Tankhoi (Republic of Buryatia). In total, more than 18 full garbage trucks were removed from the shore of the lake.” , says the organizing committee.
It is noted that most often tourists leave plastic bottles and dishes on the shores of Lake Baikal - about 30% of all collected garbage. Glass bottles accounted for 20%, cellophane - 10%, metal cans - 5%, paper - 3%. “The rest was a variety of garbage, including old tires, torn shoes, and even a refrigerator,” the message states.
Volunteers completely loaded an additional truck with scrap metal, which had been lying in Buguldeika Bay for many years on the site of a former timber industry enterprise.
“The bulk of the garbage collected on the shore of Baikal was chaotically scattered. But 14 “garbage ulcers” - waste buried in the ground - were also removed,” the organizing committee noted.
At all points where more than 400 volunteers of the “360 minutes for Baikal” campaign worked, signs were installed urging tourists not to leave trash. “Our goal is not just to clean the shores of Lake Baikal from garbage, but also to increase the environmental awareness and culture of the guests of the lake, to make sure that in the end there is nothing to clean up,” said Elena Rollins, director of public relations for En+ Group (the organizer of the event) .
Participants in the “360 minutes for Baikal” campaign arrived at the cleaning sites from Irkutsk on 16 buses provided by EuroSibEnergo (part of the En+ Group). The trip to each point took four to five hours. Hot meals were provided for the participants. Among the volunteers of the event were employees of companies included in the En+ Group, students, schoolchildren, members of environmental organizations and simply caring people who signed up through the website .
The environmental campaign “360 minutes for Baikal”, organized by En+ Group, was first held in 2011. Then 101 volunteers took part in it. In six hours, volunteers collected 500 bags of garbage - four KamAZ trucks.
On September 8, a mass cleanup event “Blogger Against Garbage” was also held throughout Russia.