On the Borzhava, the plastic clot was removed. One of the many (PHOTOS)

One of ten waste jams – mostly plastic – on the Borzhava river, near the village of Kvasovo was cleared yesterday. The ecological campaign was dedicated to the Day of the Danube, which is celebrated throughout Europe. Transcarpathia also joined the campaign, because our Tisa river is the largest tributary of the great river, which unites Europe.

A representative of the local community, Mr. Zoltan said that local volunteers for the second week had been cleaning garbage jams on the Borzhava: in the village there were 5 of them, two more will remain. They work mostly by hand – from the shore and from a boat with nets and other devices, and now – with the crane with a so-called "crab" – a special net. Overall, they have removed from the river more than 80 cubic meters of plastic waste, more than 40 cubic meters of fallen trunks and branches, about 15 tons of glass and up to 5 tons of other debris. 

The company, which can be safely regarded as the source of most plastic waste, namely PET-bottles – the producer of Coca-Cola and other soft drinks – assist in the organization and financing of clearing works. As the company representatives reported, over the past four years they have cleared more than 60 km of Transcarpathian river banks, collected 28 tons of plastic waste, engaged more than 2000 people in environmental projects. But, they admit, it is not enough…

The head of the Tisa river basin water resources management Volodymyr Chipak, said that such campaigns are very useful, but it is better not to allow such things to happen.       

Serhiy Afanasiev, the head of the ichthyology and river systems ecology department of the Institute of Hydrobiology of NAS of Ukraine told about the damage that debris cause to the river ecosystem saying that usually people pay attention to, so to speak, the aesthetic aspect of debris, but wastes in the river also destroy biobalance. The scientist says that Transcarpathian rivers have not suffered irreparable damage yet, but if we do not save them immediately, it will happen and we lose the natural biodiversity of our waters.

Now, in Kvasovo they not only continue cleaning the plastic jam on the river, but also introduce the latest household waste management system with the help of the same company within the concept of "responsible business": in the village, they installed special containers for plastic waste the contents of which is taken away and sent for recycling regularly.

In any case, there is so much plastic, that have accumulated in Transcarpathian rivers and their banks, that the cleaning will take years, and without establishing an effective system of waste management across the region it is impossible to fundamentally rectify the situation. If there is no alternative, and debris, especially plastic waste, is not dealt with properly, it will continue to get in rivers…

Reference. Celebration of the Day of the Danube in Transcarpathian region is organized by the Transcarpathian Regional Organisation of the Environmental League, the European Union project "Additional support to the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine in the implementation of the Sector budget support," Coca-Cola Beverages Ukraine and the Tisa river basin water resources management.

More photos – here.