It’s springtime and the MA 48 (municipal department for waste management, street cleaning and vehicle fleet) invites all Viennese citizens to help clean the city. This event takes place for the 14thtime and hopes to raise awareness for city pollution.
Let’s clean!
This year the motto of the campaign is “Mir kehren zamm!”. Between April 25thand May 9th, committed Viennese citizens can take part in the campaign to rid the city of rubbish. The event intends to raise awareness for the importance of clean public spaces – after all, we all want the city we live in to be clean. Associations and organizations participate as well as schools and private people.
It is quite simple …
Cleaning takes place in public spaces throughout Vienna, for example in parks, sidewalks, squares or playgrounds. You are free to decide with whom (family, friends, colleagues), when and where you want to clean. You just need to register with MA 48 in advance. The equipment is provided by MA 48: One receives warning vests, gloves and garbage bags (yellow ones for plastic bottles and cans, black ones for other garbage).
Cleaning together
The City of Vienna offers special “focus days” where people meet to clean up the city together. Schools and kindergartens also take part in such special campaigns. These are offered in all districts at certain dates (which can be found at the city councils website). At a joint “cleaning-mornings”, participants meet with professionals of MA 48 and MA 42 (department for city gardens) and clean up the city – armed with brooms, grippers and rakes. On 27thof April there will be an underwater cleaning event. Professional divers search for hidden “treasures”. They are supported by the Department of Water (MA 45), who carry the recovered objects ashore, while MA 48 disposes of them.
A popular event
Since the start of the spring cleaning campaign, a total of 320 tons of waste have already been collected and disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner by MA 48. Last year, more than 17,000 people took part, collecting about 29 tons of waste. It is definitely worth helping. After all, it is up to us residents to keep the city beautiful and clean.
