Thousands of volunteers clean up 200,000 kilos of waste along the Maas river

Around 10,000 volunteers removed an estimated 200,000 kilos of trash along the Maas river and its tributaries in Limburg on Saturday. In addition, numerous volunteers removed plastic waste in and around towns and villages. This was announced by the organization Maas Cleanup after the successful cleanup action. For comparison, during the last Maas Cleanup action in September last year, about 5,000 volunteers removed about 40,000 kilos of trash from the Meuse or from its banks.

Maas Cleanup is a movement that is dedicated to keep the banks of rivers in Limburg clean. The movement consists of volunteers, companies, (nature) organizations and citizens. Over the years, the initiative says it has grown into a community of businesses and organizations that are committed to a more sustainable world.

A total of 209 cleanups were organized along the Meuse this year, including 15 for the first time in Belgium on the banks of the Meuse. Litter along rivers threatens biodiversity and the quality of our (drinking) water, the organization said. "It's the fourth year we've done this action, and the enthusiasm is unbroken," said Maas Cleanup Chairman Huub Waterval.

"Moving it to the spring has also proved successful. For this, we have again teamed up with hundreds of volunteers who have been cleaning up in the spring for years. Without their dedication and commitment, we would not have managed to clean up so much, " Waterval stated.

Saturday's cleanup of the Meuse River and its tributaries in Limburg coincided with the Nederland Schoon organization's 21st National Clean-up Day. About 50,000 volunteers participated on Saturday. This is about the same number as last year. As much litter as possible was removed at thousands of locations throughout the country.