200,000 volunteers in Denmark have collected 173 tonnes of rubbish, as well as 102,000 cans, as part of a project to help clean up the country’s natural areas.
The collection, organised by the Danish Society for Nature Conservation, takes place annually on a Sunday during April, with schools and other institutions also contributing in the week leading up to the collection day.
This year’s litter collection brought in 18 tonnes more trash than in 2017, the society said.
77 percent of the collected cans are reported to have come from stores at the border with Germany, where many Danes bulk buy to save money.
That means many of the cans cannot be recycled through the Danish ‘pant’ system.
The ‘pant’ model is based on a small surcharge being paid on every bottle and can bought in Denmark. The surcharge, or deposit, is paid back to consumers when bottles are returned via specialised machines, which are located at most supermarkets.
Similar systems are used in used in neighbouring Sweden and Norway.
