Over 3.5 Tons of Waste Collected at the Maros PET Cup

The participants of the four-day Maros PET Cup, which started in Apátfalva and ended in Szeged, collected 607 bags, an estimated 3.6 tons of waste, the organizer Természetfilm.hu Association informed MTI on Tuesday.

According to the press release, the Tisza PET Cup has been organising waste collection competitions for more than ten years, and this time they undertook the clean-up of another tributary. For years, environmental groups from the municipalities along the Maros have been working to clean up the river, and the PET Cup has now come to their aid, passing on its experience in river conservation.

Thanks to continuous rains and floods, the raging Maros River showed its rare face during the action from Thursday to Sunday, giving the participating ‘PET catchers’ a lesson. The organizers detected more litter than expected: recent floods have added to the previous piles of rubbish.

Of the 3.6 tons of waste collected, around four-fifths are plastic bottles floating on the water, most of which are brought in from across the border. Among the waste, participants found refrigerators, TV sets, insulating materials, plastic chairs, metal barrels, car body parts, rubber boats and hazardous waste such as paint, pesticides and oil bottles. Paddling along the 36 kilometers of river, islands of waste from pill bottles mixed with floating rubbish wood were found in 100–150-meter intervals, mainly caught by trees that had fallen from the shore. 

Thanks to public service providers, collection and recycling companies and innovative, small-scale solutions, the PET Cup has grown into the largest recycler of river waste in more than ten years as an NGO. About 60% of the waste collected and sorted into different fractions is recycled.

On Sunday, the final day of the Maros PET Cup, the participants cleaned up the stretch of river between Deszk and Szeged, with the final kilometers deciding the winner. In the end, the PETúnia team of veteran pirates, who had been leading all the way, came out on top and won the Hero of the Maros award.

To support local waste collection activities, the organizers of the PET Cup – thanks to the main sponsor Diageo – are setting up a River Rescue Anchorage in Makó, next to the Adventure Park. This will serve as a base for water and river clean-up actions: it will provide volunteers with bags and gloves. It also aims to inform the public about the PET Cup activities through exhibitions and activities, and to provide a place for volunteers involved in river rescue to relax and recharge their batteries.