Litter in waterways and green spaces has long been a pressing issue. Environmentalists and climate activists are organising campaigns to raise public awareness about littering. A glass bottle left in a forest can ignite fires, causing dozens of trees to burn, while a metal can become a lethal trap for insects and small mammals.

The Oder Clean-up, initiated and organised by environmentalist and traveller Dominik Dobrowolski, took place for the third time. More than 21,000 volunteers from the Czech Republic, Germany, and Poland participated this year. The participants included sponsors, local authorities, scouts, and schoolchildren, all united by the goal of leaving the Oder River cleaner than before the campaign began.

During the clean-up, which occurred in late April and early May, volunteers collected a total of 165 tonnes of waste. The clean-up extended beyond the Oder River to include the Mała Panew, Stobrawa, Nysa Łużycka, Nysa Kłodzka, Opava, Warta, Barycz, Bystrzyca, Bóbr, and Ina rivers.

Among the items collected were clothes, large household appliances, a TV set, construction waste, polystyrene foam, furniture, and large bags of municipal rubbish. In some areas, volunteers collected a tonne of rubbish within just 30 meters of the river.

During this year's clean-up event, the volunteers had an important task: restocking the river with fry. In the summer of 2022, an environmental disaster on the Oder River led to the death of over 1,650 tonnes of fish, which accounted for 60% of their total biomass. As part of the #ODROdzenie campaign, 1.5 million small fish, including zander and pike, were raised and released into the Oder and its tributaries.

Source: Youtube - Dominik Dobrowolski