Romania to introduce "National Cleaning Day" to encourage environmentalism
Romania is set to introduce the National Cleaning Day to emphasize the social responsibility of both citizens and authorities, as well as companies, with regard to the environment.
The National Cleaning Day will take place on the third Saturday of September. Its purpose is to encourage cleaning actions with a positive environmental impact, separate collection, recycling, and waste disposal.
The legislative proposal to introduce the event, which was recently submitted to the Senate, was supported by both the opposition and the government.
On the occasion of National Cleaning Day, the Parliament, the Presidential Administration, the Government, central and local authorities, as well as public institutions under their jurisdiction or coordination "can organize cultural, social, and educational activities to promote good practices regarding environmental cleaning actions and the importance of maintaining a clean environment," as per the project reviewed by Profit.ro.
These institutions will be able to allocate funds from their own budgets for the organization and smooth conduct of events, as well as provide material, financial, and logistical support to entities wishing to organize public events and actions dedicated to cleaning and environmental protection activities. According to another provision of the project, the Romanian Television Society and the Romanian Broadcasting Society may include broadcasts dedicated to promoting environmental cleaning and protection actions in their program.
"By participating in cleaning activities, citizens will develop a sense of ownership and pride in their communities, fostering stronger social bonds and a common commitment towards environmental protection," the initiators say.
“The legislative initiative, inspired by the work of Let's Do It, Romania! has been submitted to the Senate. I have participated in many ecological actions and follow groups and pages on social media, where I see that many volunteers in Romania choose to clean up. A national day would certainly be welcome. This law will increase the awareness of the importance of these actions but will also allow local authorities to reimburse certain expenses and better plan these activities,” said environment minister Mircea Fechet in a post on Facebook.
The association Let’s Do It, Romania! has been organizing the “National Cleaning Day - Cleaning across the country in one day” event since 2010. Over 2 million volunteers have participated in the event to date, the minister noted.
The minister also added that the ongoing deposit-return system, which encourages the recycling of PET bottles, is probably the best waste management system in Romania. “From our calculations, we have broken the barrier of collecting 5 million PET bottles every day in Romania. It is an impressive figure, and the trend is upward,” he said.
(Photo source: Mircea Fechet on Facebook)
