Over 7,000 bags of garbage were collected on Saturday on the occasion of World Cleanup Day, the event’s organiser in Belgium, Valérie De Groote, said on Tuesday. Based on results from 185 of the 305 actions organised as part of the Day’s activities, along with 22 garbage collections that had not been registered, some 25,914 persons contributed their time to clean Belgium’s streets.
According to the available results, the volunteers picked up 7,252 bags of waste, representing 435 cubic metres of garbage, Mrs. De Groote said.
The organisers had set themselves an ambitious target: the participation of 5% of the population in 150 countries. To attain this objective, 550,000 persons would have had to take part in Belgium, so with just under 26,000 volunteers, the target was far from met.
Since the results from many of the 300+ local actions were still not in, the organisers expected a full tally of about 30,000 participants, and 9,400 bags collected, representing 565 cubic metres of waste.
World Cleanup Day Belgium is an initiative of the Junior International Chamber of Belgium, a non-profit organisation of active young citizens aged 18 to 40 years, who aim to make a positive impact on society.
The Brussels Times
