Media release

Latvian Presidency is taking part in the Big Cleanup ("Lielā talka") campaign

25 April 2015

On 25 April the whole of Latvia will take part in environmental clean-up and redevelopment activities aimed at making Latvia the cleanest and tidiest country in the world by 2018 when we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Latvian State. The Latvian Presidency is taking part in the Big Cleanup campaign and invites everyone — residents and guests of Latvia alike — to participate saying yes to an environmentally friendly lifestyle.

This year, the Big Cleanup takes place during Latvia's Presidency of the EU Council, allowing close attention to be paid to environmental issues not only in Latvia but also at pan-European level. Climate change issues will then take centre stage in December 2015 during the climate conference at which political leaders will decide on measures for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. The Latvian Presidency will help EU Member States reach agreement on joint steps to be taken to preserve the global environment.

"The goal for Latvia is a cleaner world, since the environment unites the entire planet. The Big Cleanup in Latvia is proof that if there is a clear vision and a tremendous will, then it is possible to achieve great and very ambitious goals. A spring without the Big Cleanup is now completely unthinkable, and the possibility that Latvia could indeed become the cleanest country in the world already seems quite real. A clean and tidy Latvia goes hand in hand with a green Latvia, clever and smart living and innovative production," said Prime Minister of Latvia Laimdota Straujuma.

The Big Cleanup takes place as usual from 9:00 to 15:00 all across Latvia at around 1400 official clean-up sites, but people are asked to clean up the environment throughout the day in other places as well — even in their own backyards and gardens. Each helping hand will be crucial for achieving the Big Cleanup's main objective of making Latvia the cleanest and tidiest country in the world by its 100th anniversary.

Over the weekend national clean-ups will take place not only in Latvia, but in four other countries too – Lithuania, Ukraine, Greece and Cyprus. In total at least half a million clean-up participants across Europe this week will clean up their own countries and the world at large.

People in Latvia have been actively noticing and notifying polluted sites since March, so that on 25 April they could be given clean-up bags by coordinators at the official planned clean-up sites. Please see the approved clean-up sites and choose yours. Each organised clean-up site has a person in charge who can be contacted by participants if necessary.

This year's Big Cleanup boasts a new feature — the "Green Referendum" initiative. By opening the "Green referendum" section of the www.talkas.lv website, you can express your wish to make Latvia a "green", healthy and ecological country. Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma and Environmental Protection and Regional Development Minister Kaspars Gerhards have expressed their support for the goals of the "Green Referendum" and have confirmed this with their signatures at the Clean World Conference.

The Big Cleanup tradition began seven years ago with a clean-up on 13 September 2008 that marked the 90th anniversary of Latvia. Initially, the main goal was to collect waste, but improving the environment is now an equally important part of the clean-up. Given that the amount of waste to be cleaned up in Latvia is decreasing each year, more than 40% of this year's clean-up sites applied for environmental improvement activities.

The motto for the 2015 Big Cleanup is: "Those who change - survive!" Let's tidy up Latvia and the world together!

Contact
Linda Jākobsone
Head of Presidency Communications and Public Relations Department