Nearly 80 tons of garbage were removed from 970 natural spaces throughout the national territory last Saturday, June 3, during the campaign ‘1m2 against garbage’, of the Libera Project, SEO/BirdLife in alliance with Ecoembes.
Thanks to the commitment of nearly 17,000 releasers who have joined this seventh edition, 40% more than last year, it has been possible to collect and characterize a total of more than 105,000 abandoned waste in terrestrial, fluvial and marine environments of all the Spanish provinces and the two autonomous cities.
Among the garbage most found during the collections, cigarette butts stand out, representing 19% of all the waste found. Drink cans or plastic pieces from 0 to 2.5 cm have also appeared in numerous natural spaces. Likewise, other products such as glass or wet wipes have been found.
The seventh edition of this great collaborative collection that Libera convenes each year has been developed in 970 points throughout Spain, 260 more than last year, among which spaces of great ecological value such as the Sierra de Andújar Natural Park (Jaén ), the Hoces del Cabriel Natural Reserve (Cuenca), the Urkiola Natural Park (Vizcaya, Ãlava) or the Fuentes del Narcea, Degaña and Ibias Natural Park (Asturias).
‘1m2 against garbage’ has once again had the collaboration and support of scientific, educational and informative entities that are part of Libera’s network of alliances, among which are the Red Cross, ANSE, Alnitak, ADESP, Paisaje Limpio o Oceánidas and its 40 diving clubs from the Marine Watch Network.
In addition, 131 points were created by public administrations such as the Town Halls of Burgos, Elburgo (Ãlava), La Victoria de Acentejo (Tenerife) or Sahagún (León), as well as National Parks such as Sierra de Guadarrama (Madrid, Segovia) or that of Monfragüe (Cáceres) and Hydrographic Confederations such as that of the Guadiana. Likewise, educational centers, Sponsorships of Libera such as the Girona Naturalists Association, AHE Galicia or the Avanfuer Association and companies such as Securitas, Telefónica, EDP, Alcampo or Nueva Pescanova have created garbage collection points.
“Society’s response to the garbage problem cannot be left alone on this day. Those responsible for governance, companies and citizens themselves must integrate actions to put an end to the waste problem into their lifestyle. Living first-hand how thousands of people of all ages are amazed to see how our nature of waste is doing gives us the strength to continue fighting so that one day we will not have to carry out these campaigns because we have reduced consumption and because waste is the greatest source of raw material in a circular economyâ€, assured Miguel Muñoz, coordinator of the Libera Project at SEO/BirdLife.
“There are more and more liberators who want to act in the immediate vicinity and the great mobilization of this seventh edition of ‘1m2 against garbage’ is proof of this. From LIBERA we want to thank all those who have encouraged themselves and have decided to take action to have a positive impact on their environment and to be part of the solution to rubbish for their commitment,” said Sara Güemes, coordinator of the Libera Project in Ecoembes.
