World Cleanup Day is one of the largest annual social action programmes of our time, uniting 191 countries for a cleaner planet. The movement exists to tackle the volume of solid waste.
The first clean-up took place in Estonia in May 2008 with 50,000 people in all; by 2022 more than 14.9 million people across 191 countries had collected 60,000 tonnes of waste.
Debrecen joined the worldwide clean-up for the first time this year, on 16 September 2023. The event was opened by László Pósán, Member of Parliament for Fidesz-KDNP, and Zoltán Pécskay, Managing Director of EDC Debrecen Nonprofit Kft.
"World Cleanup, the international movement we have joined, is the world's clean-up day. Debrecen is joining the event for the first time this year, with the aim of establishing a tradition," Zoltán Pécskay said at the opening.
The event and the local effort were coordinated by EDC Debrecen Nonprofit Kft., with the support of the Municipality of Debrecen, Nyírerdő Zrt., the Haláp and Nagycsere Civil Guard Association, the Debrecen Public Space Authority, the Zrínyi Miklós Hunting Association and the Debrecen-Nagycsere-Haláp Reformed Mission Parish, AVE Ásványvíz Kft. and the Contemporary Culture Foundation.
The event took place with the participation of local companies: committed colleagues from BMW Manufacturing Hungary Kft., Decathlon United, Deutsche Telekom IT Solutions, EDC Debrecen Nonprofit Kft., EPAM Systems Kft., Szinorg Universal Zrt., Shoprenter.hu Kft., Synergy Construction Hungary Kft., Thyssenkrupp Components Technology Hungary Kft., Transcosmos Kft., Trans-Sped Kft. and Vitesco Technologies collected litter together.
Some 130 employees from the 12 companies cleared waste from close to 53 square kilometres of the Erdőspuszta area, and the city leadership recognised their participation with a certificate of appreciation.
Over the course of the environmental action, the participating organisations filled six containers with seventy cubic metres of waste in total.
The organisations taking part acted not only on that single day for a cleaner, more liveable city; they are committed over the long term to making environmental protection, sustainability objectives and social responsibility part of their core organisational values.
SZINORG Group joined the local event of the global clean-up with great enthusiasm. The Group has been an active participant in programmes supporting the city's sustainable development since 2021. In 2022 it received a Sustainable Debrecen Award for its environmentally sound projects.
