Accompanied by teachers and volunteers from various organizations, they spent two days cleaning up various areas of the city, collecting nearly 130 kg of trash and over 3 kg of cigarette butts (about 10,000) in just 4 hours. Councilors Nunziata (Environment) and Longaresi (Education): “Respect for the environment is taught by example.”
“Let’s Clean Up the World” has become an unmissable event for the municipal administration, which promotes it every year with great enthusiasm and in collaboration with the principals of the schools in Castelfiorentino, the F. Enriques Comprehensive and High School, the local associations Auser, Prociv Arci, and Arcicaccia, Legambiente, and the waste management service provider Alia Plures.
Over 300 students—from third-grade elementary schoolers to first-year high schoolers—actively participated in a two-day environmental awareness event, a campaign launched way back in 1987 by Australian sailor Ian Kiernan, which each year involves millions of people in an event entirely dedicated to the “direct” collection of trash.
The efforts of the young participants—equipped with gloves, black trash bags, and appropriate tools provided by Alia Plures—allowed them to collect, in just four hours of work, all kinds of waste: paper, plastic, wood, and metal, for a total of nearly 130 kg; and, above all, it resulted in the collection of an impressive amount of cigarette butts (over 3 kg, totaling around 10,000 pieces, assuming each butt weighs between 0.2 and 0.4 grams)—
In every cleanup operation, cigarette butts are the most common type of litter. To understand the damage they cause to the environment, just consider that each cigarette butt can pollute up to 1,000 liters of water (in this case, 10,000 × 1,000 equals 10 million liters of water—enough to fill 4 Olympic-sized swimming pools!!) and remain in the environment for up to 12 years. Even after this period, the cigarette butt does not disappear but breaks down in the environment, continuing to pollute. Even biodegradable filters contain hundreds of toxic substances generated by combustion, which pollute the soil and water and poison organisms and microorganisms. If we add to this the fact that cigarette butts—often discarded without any awareness of the consequences—are one of the main causes of the numerous wildfires that, during this scorching summer, have destroyed forests, parks, and beaches in various parts of Italy, compromising entire ecosystems and local biodiversity, we can understand just how harmful they are not only to human health but to the entire environment.
The “Clean Up the World” activities in Castelfiorentino were launched in the presence of Mayor Francesca Giannì and the pastor of the Parish of Santa Verdiana degli Attavanti, Father Leonardo, who emphasized the care of creation through small gestures—such as avoiding pollution of the environment in which we all live—and the importance of involving children in this day of environmental awareness, a tradition that has continued for generations. They highlighted the fact that some people have not yet realized that polluting not only harms others but also oneself. Sandro Fallani (head of educational activities with schools) from Alia also participated in the activities, reiterating the importance of increasing the recycling rate to give new life to what is commonly referred to as “waste.”
Waste collection efforts were concentrated in various areas of the city center, including the gardens of Santa Verdiana, those along Viale Potente, the streets of the lower historic center, Piazza Gramsci, and Parco della Pieve.
A significant contribution to this initiative also came from the City Youth Council, which proposed using it as a model to replicate the effort at other times of the year and outside the school setting. The phrases that most resonated with the young people were “The environment is where we live, and we don’t have more than one,” and “Taking a few steps to reach the trash can isn’t such a big”.
“We are truly proud,” notes Federico Nunziata, Councilor for the Environment, alongside Marta Longaresi, Councilor for Education, “of what the ‘Clean Up the World’ initiative is becoming in Castelfiorentino. Every year we add something new, and the number of students involved, as well as the organizations and associations collaborating with us, continues to grow. “In fact,” the Councilor continues, “we want to emphasize the importance of planning activities in collaboration with schools, which also carry out environmental projects at all levels and grades. Starting this spring, we’ll begin involving preschool children as well. Working together as a community helps us move forward united with the clear goal of raising everyone’s awareness of the precious gift that the environment around us represents for all of us.”
Background – “Clean Up the World,” which has since become one of the largest international environmental campaigns, originated in 1987 from an idea by Australian sailor Ian Kiernan, who, upon returning from a round-the-world sailing race, was particularly shocked and disgusted by the amount of trash he encountered constantly. For this reason, once he returned to Sydney, Kiernan decided to take action and began organizing a cleanup day in his city’s harbor. Thus, in 1989, “Clean Up Sydney Harbor Day” was born, attracting a massive turnout. Building on this great success, Ian Kiernan and his friends decided to mobilize the entire nation for a cleanup day: thus, in 1990, the first Clean Up Australia was born. The next step was to extend the Clean Up Australia concept to the rest of the world, which was launched for the first time in 1993.
