Piles of bottles, cans, papers, old shoes, even car tires, car parts or shower cubicle doors - all this rubbish was collected from the banks of the Dłubnia and the Młynówka rivers, thanks to the efforts of Nowa Huta citizens and ArcelorMittal Poland Unit in Krakow employees, who gathered last Saturday to clean up the river bend nearby Wojciechowskiego street and the Nowohucki lagoon.
The record high number of volunteers, almost 100 in total, participated in the clean-up event of the Dłubnia river, organized by the EcoTravel Foundation and ArcelorMittal Poland. Over 50 employees from the Krakow’s plant, including plant directors joined the action. Around three hectares were cleaned. The event was successful thanks to the support received from city councillors of the XVI Bieńczyce district, the XVIII Nowa Huta district, representatives of the Municipal Greenery Management in Krakow, fishermen, community activists and city residents who care about nature and the environment they live in.
For the youngest volunteers a dedicated safe route, far from the river banks was established; they were among those who engaged the most vigorously in cleaning up this picturesque part of Nowa Huta, and for them it was a valuable lesson on ecology and on how to preserve the natural environment.
Nearly 200 collected bags full of trash, bottles, cans and bulky garbage will be transferred to the Municipal Waste Management Company in Krakow for further recycling treatment.
- We are glad to be a part of this important initiative for Nowa Huta district. As we neighbour the Dłubnia river we feel partially responsible for this place. It is truly encouraging to see so many citizens participating in the clean-up and to know they want to be responsible for the natural environment and the surroundings they live in – says Grzegorz Maracha, Blast Furnaces and Steel Plant director in ArcelorMittal Poland Unit in Krakow, who also actively participated in the event.
The initiative, organized by the EcoTravel Foundation, was numerously supported by employees of the Krakow’s plant because it responds to the needs of citizens, who reported to the authorities of Nowa Huta district their concerns about the environmental condition of the Dłubnia river. The neighbouring river, which supplies in water many of the plant’s installations. - It is worth mentioning that wastewater from ArcelorMital Poland Unit in Krakow is not routed to the Dłubnia river. We are using the river’s waters only to supply our installations. Water is firstly treated in in our water treatment plants and then introduced to the internal industrial water circulation system to be reused in the production processes. By cleaning up the river we wanted to repay our debt to nature and to create for citizens of Krakow a pleasant place to visit. A place where they can enjoy a walk, especially now in the spring. The area was very polluted and we happily welcomed all extra pairs of hands to help us. Our employees undertook this task with a great deal of enthusiasm, which resulted in cleaning up the huge area of land – says Sylwia Winiarek, spokeswoman in ArcelorMittal Poland.
Saturday’s clean-up of the Dłubnia and the Młynówka rivers was coordinated by Marcin Pawlik, naturalist and EcoTravel Foundation chairman, who has been conducting such events and inspiring neighbours, friends and authorities to participate in since three years now.
- The more people, the more we can do - we have clearly proved that today. Families with children, volunteers and employees of ArcelorMittal Poland, all together gathered on the Dłubnia river banks in Nowa Huta district. The event attracted a record-high number of participants. We have cleaned up the large area, but there are many more places, which are very polluted. Luckily, such events are becoming more and more popular each year among citizens who are aware of the value of such initiatives – says Marcin Pawlik, chairman of EcoTravel Foundation.
At the end of the event, all participators were invited to share together a hot meal and hot drinks and could relax after the hard work by the Nowohucki lagoon. Finally, the winner of the special contest – for finding the strangest rubbish in the area of the Dłubnia and the Młynówka rivers was announced. Mr Andrzej who won, found on the river bank a shower cubicle doors! He was awarded with a unique plant, which is expected to bloom this Easter.
Everyone who participated in the clean-up action received from ArcelorMittal Poland a beautiful blooming polyanthus symbolizing the coming spring, which hopefully will remind all volunteers that taking care of nature pays back and it is worth to invest time to preserve its beauty.
- We hope that the residents who live nearby will appreciate our joint efforts and will not allow to turn this place into a garbage dump anymore. We wish this event will be an incentive for the citizens to care more about Nowa Huta district and all other public sites we should be proud of. That is why we are not stopping there, the clean-up of the Dłubnia and the Młynówka rivers is just the beginning. We are planning to launch another pro-ecological initiative dedicated to historically, culturally and environmentally valuable places soon – announces Marzena Rogozik from ArcelorMittal Poland.
