Campaign to remind that trash often ends from street well to the Baltic Sea – a street well is not a garbage can
Vantaa participates in a campaign that reminds that trash thrown away may end up in a street well and, from there, to the waterway, because water entering the street drain network is not cleaned, as a general rule.
Pidä Saaristo Siistinä ry (“Keep the Archipelago Tidy”) is the organizer of the Mahanpuruja muovista (“Collywobbles from Plastic”) campaign. In the metropolitan area, implementing the campaign is the shared responsibility of Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority HSY and the cities of Vantaa, Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. HSY is responsible for the maintenance and building of the stormwater drain network in Vantaa, as well as elsewhere in the metropolitan area.
The campaign is manifested in the perch and pike stickers placed on the lids of stormwater, that is, street well lids. The big and colorful fish stickers remind people of how trash moves from the city to the sea, perhaps ending in the mouth of the fish.
Rain and meltwater—that is, stormwater—flows along the surfaces of built environments and collects trash on its way. Stormwater is usually directed to stormwater drains or open ditches from which it flows into brooks, rivers, or seas.
- As a general rule, stormwater is not cleaned, but it is most often directed unprocessed to nature. “This fairly direct route of stormwater to the waterways is a surprise to most people,” tells Marika Visakova, environmental expert at HSY.
The items that enter the waterways with stormwater have a great impact on the state of the waterways. Everybody can affect the quality of stormwater and, thus, the quality of their local waterways by ensuring that they put trash into trash cans.
- “Plastic in particular is a major problem in nature, because plastic never disappears. Instead, it breaks down into smaller and smaller microplastic,” Visakova instructs.
The majority of the trash comes from the residents. The most common type of trash is a cigarette butt, which releases, among other things, microplastic into nature. The proper place for trash is a trash can. Moreover, when properly recycled, trash constitutes an important part of the circular economy. When ending up on the ground and elsewhere in nature, trash translates into an environmental nuisance, as well as wasted resources.
Spot fish stickers in downtown Kivistö, August 19 - September 1
Vantaa has participated in the campaign for several years, and the city's fish stickers have been placed in various parts of the city in the different years. This year, the stickers have been placed in downtown Kivistö, on eleven street well lids. The campaign period is from August 19 to September 1, 2024, but the stickers will be placed on the street well lids already a few days before the campaign begins. The stickers will be removed on Monday, September 2.
The Collywobbles from Plastic campaign is part of the PlastLIFE project. The PlastLIFE project receives financing from the EU's LIFE program. The project materials have been produced with this financing. The content of the materials only represents the project’s own views, of which the CINEA/European Commission is not responsible.
Further information
Information on stormwater on HSY's website.
Pidä Saaristo Siistinä ry's (“Keep the Archipelago Tidy”) Mahanpuruja Muovista (“Collywobbles from Plastic”) campaign website (in Finnish)
