On 20 September, to mark the World Cleanup Day, the campaign “LET’S MAKE Vilnius GREEN!” brought together more than 1,000 participants in Vilnius – residents, families, schoolchildren and corporate teams. This was the largest cleanup campaign in the capital this year, organised by Vilnius City Municipality and the public institution Mes Darom.

During the clean-up, which lasted more than three hours, more than 5 tonnes of waste were removed from the banks of the River Neris near Gariūnai DEPO which is equivalent to a full truck trailer. In the forest and on the riverbank, the cleaners found not only household and construction waste, but also entire landfills and buried rubbish. An old boat, a pram, a television set and almost the entire interior of a car were among the more interesting finds.

A team of divers also joined the campaign, pulling hard-to-reach waste from the bottom of the River Neris. This made it possible to clean up areas that are usually invisible.

“It took just a few hours for the banks of the River Neris to change beyond recognition. But what is more important is not how many bags we filled, but how many people left the forest feeling that they had done something good. That is precisely our goal – for everyone to feel responsible for their environment,” says Edvardas Baltuška, the head of communications at Public Institution Mes Darom.

Ignas, who participated in the campaign, said that he did not expect such a large amount of pollution: “At first, it seemed that the riverbank was quite clean. But as soon as we started looking, we found the forest full of construction waste, old furniture and glass. It’s hard to believe how much is still left in nature. It was hard work, but at the same time it was great fun to work together with so many people.”

An old explosive device among the finds

The biggest challenge of the day was an explosive device found by participants in the forest – the police were called to the scene, followed by the ARAS bomb disposal team, who examined the device and removed it safely. The organisers would like to thank the services for their efficient work and remind everyone that if you find suspicious or dangerous objects, do not touch them – call the emergency number 112.

Community celebration

The campaign was not limited to garbage collection – educational spaces and waste collection points were open from the morning. Residents were able to dispose of electronics and hazardous waste free of charge and participate in educational activities, games and creative activities. Event partners “Toksika”, “EMP Recycling”, “Bionova”, “CupCup”, “DĖK’ui”, Vilnius City Bookbus, “Gaidelis”, “Satchel” and “SDG” invited participants to try out various environmental initiatives.

“Every such campaign reminds us that the Green Capital is not a title, but the people. Hundreds of Vilnius residents gathered to show that our city is ready not only to talk about change, but to create it with our own hands,” says Jurga Pociūtė-Mikūtienė, the head of the project “Vilnius – European Green Capital 2025”.
“LET’S MAKE Vilnius GREEN!” is one of many campaigns that took place around the world on 20 September to mark the World Cleanup Day. This is an annual international movement that encourages residents not only to clean up the environment, but also to change their attitude towards waste, consumption and responsibility for what we leave behind.