The Big Cleanup (LIELĀ TALKA in Latvian) is the widest volunteers` movement in Latvia. More than 500 000 participants both in Latvia and Latvian diasporas in the world took part in the event during its over 10 years of existence. The movement is organized through the involvement of local coordinators and site leaders and involves municipalities, education institutions, organizations, representatives of companies, as well as volunteers who are willing to organize a cleanup initiative within a certain territory. Participants are provided with information, waste bags and clear instructions on what to collect and where to turn in the waste bags at the end of the collection activity.
Several additional activities are organized within the framework of The Big Clean Up. One of them is the “Water Cleanup” which aims at cleaning rivers from branches and waste. Special guidelines are provided for this activity by the organizers. Coasts are also an important target and local municipality can suggest them to include them in the territories addressed by the initiative.
THIS YEAR – BIG CLEANUP IN 955 LOCATIONS ACROSS LATVIA
This year the BigCleanup was organized in a slightly unusual format to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions involving participants on a more individual level. Over 955 cleanup locations were recorded marking a great success also considering that many participants took part to the initiative without registering. The event was also a great warm-up for the World Cleanup, which will take place on September 19.
