Over 50,000 Volunteers In 39 Counties Join Cleanup Campaign "Let's Do It Romania! "

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Project coordinator Liana Buzea told a news conference Tuesday that over 50,000 volunteers have registered on the campaign website so far and that 39 counties have confirmed their participation. She added funds donated by sponsors amount to EUR20,000.

Buzea stressed that, on average, each county confirmed 30-40 localities where volunteers will collect waste, while several counties confirmed even all localities.

The national cleanup campaign will take place Saturday, September 25, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.. The action will set off as soon as volunteers reach the registration points to be given instructions. The list of registration points is available, starting Tuesday, on the official website of the campaign www.letsdoitromania.ro.

Over 6,000 trash piles have been identified countrywide so far. However, no cleanup is needed in some areas in counties like Cluj, Suceava and Salaj. According to Buzea, around 20,000 tons of waste would be collected if 200,000 people took part in the campaign.

Ana Maria Tanase, spokesperson with Romania's National Water Administration, said rivers Jiu, Teleajen, Doftana, Bistrita, Trotus, Uzului, Ozana, Tarnava, Mures ands Somes will be cleaned up Saturday.

Laurentiu Avram, representing sanitation company Urban, said the company made over 200 waste removal machines available in six counties.

Environment Ministry representative Ionut Georgescu on Tuesday said Minister Laszlo Borbely and the ministry employees would also join the campaign. Georgescu said it is important that collected waste be capitalized and recycled, not dumped in garbage pits. He also said that, according to statistics, 85% of waste can be capitalized, adding 30% of the carbon dioxide in air comes from poor waste management. He stressed that 500,000 jobs would be created, in one year, if all European Union states implemented a system of selective waste collection and recycling.

Just like the initial actions in Estonia (the country which started the initiative), organized in 2008, and the ones in Latvia in 2009, the action in Romania involves citizens, local authorities, private firms, cleaning operators, public figures and mass-media in order to get people to clean the waste and make citizens more responsible regarding the environment.