September cleaning: Vantaa invites all residents to participate in the September cleaning spree

It is important to Vantaa residents that their neighborhood is clean

Cleanliness of the environment became an important theme in Vantaa’s first city-level participatory budgeting. The Aviapolis, Hakunila and Myyrmäki major regions received financing for arranging cleaning events and voluntary cleaning sprees. 

In the Movers & Shakers Day in May, Vantaa children and the young gave many addresses emphasizing the importance of keeping the environment clean. Children and the young wanted both the city and the residents to take measures to reduce littering and to clean the environment. 

“Our answer to this residents’ wish is to arrange the September cleaning spree. The City of Vantaa challenges all residents, schools and educational institutions, organizations, and communities to participate in cleaning their local environment in the course of September. Environmental cleanliness is an issue that each and every one of us can have an impact on by our own acts,” says chief community involvement specialist Kaisa Kutilainen. 

Cleaning sprees in Aviapolis, Hakunila, and Myyrmäki

In connection with participatory budgeting, Vantaa will arrange three cleaning events in cooperation with Teemu ”Eino” Oinio, a Vantaa Roskapäivä (“Trash Day”) influencer. In addition to the actual cleaning, there will be food and other program for the participants. All the tools needed in the cleaning spree will be available on the spot. Residents of all ages are welcome to participate in the cleaning spree!

In participatory budgeting's developmental stage, residents were asked to give more detailed wishes for, among other things, the time of the cleaning events, catering, and location. These wishes were accounted for when preparing the cleaning sprees.

Myyrmäki, September 10

Myyrmäki residents especially wished the center of Myyrmäki and the station and its vicinity to be cleaned. The cleaning spree will take place on Tuesday, September 10, at 16:00-18:00. The point of departure is Paalutori. Myyrmäki citizens' house participates in the event. 

Hakunila, September 14

In Hakunila, people especially wished the cleaning spree to focus on the vicinity of the mall. The cleaning spree will take place in connection with  Hakunila Day, on Saturday, September 14, at 10:30-14:00. The Hakunila Day event will take place at Hakunila mall (address: Laukkarinne 4). 

Aviapolis, September 26

In the Aviapolis major region, most cleaning wishes focused on Pakkala and Kartanonkoski. The cleaning spree will take place on Thursday, September 26, at 15:00-18:00. The point of departure is Pakkala youth center's yard (address: Ylästöntie 35).

National Trash Day, September 7 

In September, Vantaa will also participate in the very first national Trash Day, which will take place on Saturday, September 7. The idea of the trash day is that the participants, for one day, collect trash from nature, or, for example, arrange a cleaning event of their own.  Individual people, cities, businesses, and organizations can participate in the trash day. You will find more information on the event’s website: roskapaiva.com.

Teemu ”Eino” Oinio—an Instagram influencer—arranges the trash day event.  Eino, a Vantaa resident, says that collecting trash from one’s neighborhood not only increases the area's coziness, but is also good for nature and animals. The best things in these cleaning events are encounters with the local residents; they always bring the locals together to act on behalf of a cleaner neighborhood.”

You can familiarize yourself with Eino and his ideas by watching the Trashday documentary, published in the spring of 2024. The documentary describes Eino's relationship with the trashing of nature in a way that gives people hope for the better. The well-received documentary gave rise to various acts related to the Trash Day event, immediately after it was published. The documentary mentions the national Trash Day for the very first day. The date set for it is Saturday, September 7, 2024. 

You can publish photos of your own cleaning spree on September 7, on Instagram: #roskapäivä2024 and #siivoussyyskuu.

Participate in the cleaning challenge on social media

Participants in the September cleaning event can share photos of their own cleaning sprees on Instragram, hashtag: #siivoussyyskuu. You can also tag the Vantaan kaupunki (City of Vantaa) and Roskapäivä (Trash Day) accounts. People who share photos will be included in a lottery with the following prizes: a €50 restaurant voucher and free tickets to the city’s sports services. 

Instructions:
•    Take a photo of your own cleaning spree
•    Share the photo on Instagram, hashtag: #siivoussyyskuu. 
•    If you wish, you can also tag @vantaankaupunki and @roskapaiva.
•    The winners will be contacted via Instragram in October 2024.

The city lends trash grabbers for the cleaning spree

All the City of Vantaa libraries (with the exception of the small Hiekkaharju and Pähkinärinne libraries) have trash grabbers that can be borrowed. In addition, you can borrow 10 sets of trash grabbers for the cleaning spree at Hakunila, Lumo, and Tikkurila libraries. These large sets even include carrier bags. You borrow the trash grabbers with your library card. You cannot reserve the trash grabbers in advance, but you can check on the library’s helmet.fi website whether any trash grabbers are available at the library, or whether they all have been loaned.

Moreover, you can borrow trash grabbers for your own cleaning spree at Myyrmäki and Koivukylä citizens' houses.  

Other cleaning events in September

Welcome to Roskakävely (“Trash Walk”) in Tikkurila on Wednesday, September 4, at 10:00-12:00!

You can borrow trash bags, gloves, as well as trash grabbers at the citizens' house (address: Lummetie 2A). We will depart from the citizens' house at 10:00 and head toward Kirjastopuisto along Kirjasola. At the end of the cleaning spree, the participants are offered coffee and snacks at Tikkurila citizens' house at 12:00-13:00. Please enroll in the Roskakävely (“Trash Walk”) event at the latest on Friday, August 30, so we can make the required catering arrangements. tikkurilanasukastila@vantaa.fi.

Cleaning sprees will continue in the spring

Participatory budgeting will continue the cleaning sprees in the spring of 2025, at which time we will implement the cleaning events especially in cooperation with the schools located in the Aviapolis, Hakunila, and Myyrmäki major regions. 
We also encourage other residents to continue to clean their own neighborhoods by arranging cleaning sprees of their own in the spring.  

September cleaning spree is implemented by

The City of Vantaa
Vantaa libraries
Vantaa citizens' houses
Vantaa's youth premises 
Roskapäivä (“Trash Day”) influencer Teemu ”Eino” Oinio.

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