CABP cleans rivers and fights plastic waste
For five years, Credit Agricole Bank Polska has been organizing, together with ecologist Dominik Dobrowolski, the two largest river cleanup campaigns in Poland: the Clean Odra Campaign and the Clean Vistula Campaign. Every year, over 50,000 people from all over Poland, as well as volunteers from the Czech Republic and Germany, take part in both campaigns.
"Our campaign is fully democratic: we give power to local communities. They know best what needs to be cleaned up in their area and where. Every year, more and more participants join us, which is very encouraging, because it means that the issue of clean rivers and a clean environment is becoming increasingly important to Poles," says Dominik Dobrowolski, initiator and main coordinator of the Clean Odra Campaign.
Last year, participants in both campaigns collected a total of over 450 tons of waste – a record in the history of the campaign. Most of it was consumer waste, packaging, and construction, agricultural, and automotive waste. More than half of the waste collected was plastic, and 30 percent was glass. The clean-up campaigns were accompanied by lessons in schools, as well as talks and presentations for residents of towns along the Oder River. The educational campaign was also carried out in the local media and on the website mniejplastiku.pl.
"From the very beginning, Operation Clean Odra has been a pretext for drawing attention to the problem of excess plastics in the environment. Every minute, 20 tons of plastic waste ends up in the seas and oceans. Plastic in water breaks down into microparticles invisible to the human eye, but it never disappears from the environment. If we do not stop this wave, we will soon kill life in the water", points out Przemysław Przybylski, spokesperson for Credit Agricole.
This year, with the start of the Clean Odra Campaign, a social environmental initiative called “Trees for the Odra” was also launched. Our ultimate goal is to plant a million new trees along the Odra and its tributaries to increase the biodiversity of the entire river basin.
"Trees play a key role in the health of the river. Their roots stabilize the banks, preventing erosion and soil loss. The leaves that fall into the river become food for many aquatic organisms and create a natural life cycle. In addition, trees filter pollutants, acting as natural purification plants. A river surrounded by greenery is full of life and its waters are cleaner", emphasizes ecologist Dominik Dobrowolski.