This year, the Plastic Cup, an initiative of Naturefilm.hu Society, was extended to another river. After the Tisza and the Bodrog, a large-scale community river rescue operation has now begun on the Maros, at the initiative of and with the participation of local civilians.
“A long-held dream has come true with the Maros Plastic Cup. Years ago, we were faced with the waste situation in Maros and since then we have wanted to do something. We were impressed by the hospitality and helpfulness of the locals, and we are glad that we were able to successfully cooperate in the cleaning of the Maros in a few days with the river rescue experience of the Plastic Cup. We thank Diageo for providing financial support for this,” said Viktória Berberovics-Sóvári, the main organizer of the Maros Plastic Cup.
“We hope that the joint work can continue in the future and that we can return to the banks of this wonderfully beautiful, wildly romantic river,” added the specialist.
The organizer of the competition was the Naturefilm.hu Society, the main sponsor of which is Diageo, the world’s leading producer and distributor of alcoholic beverages. The collaboration between PET Kupa and Diageo started last year: then the company initiated a cross-border program within the framework of the CALL-Action program. Thanks to the support, PET Kupa was able to increase waste collection and processing capacities in Transcarpathia, the source region of the Tisza, and organized river cleaning actions, improving waste collection methods. Exceeding the two-year target value of the program, 724 tons of selective waste were already collected and processed in Transcarpathia.
The settlements along the Maros River, civilians and entrepreneurs helped the organizers a lot in the implementation of the event. Especially the dedicated municipalities of Makó, Szeged, Apátfalva, Kiszombor, Deszk and Ferencszállás and the enthusiastic local environmentalists of the participating teams. The organizers gratefully thank ATIVIZIG for the motor units, MOHOSZ and the locals for the motor boats, as well as the BGRG and the Attila Vajda Regional Academy for the great help with which they supported the river rescue work. Abátfalva’s civil garbage collection team also took an active role in the production of PET boats.
From the beginning of the Plastic Cup competitions, the Upper-Tiszavidéki Diving and Rescue Association takes care of the water safety of the participants. Waste management is coordinated by the organizers’ permanent professional partner, the Association of Environmental Service Providers and Manufacturers, the event’s waste management partner is Szeged Waste Management Nonprofit Kft. Konasoft helped the program with computer technology developments. Henkel has been a supporter of river cleaning for many years with Tisza Cipő products, and DHL supports the Plastic Cup competitions as a logistics partner.
