These operators will clean up the first three counties.

After thorough considerations and negotiations, it is now clarified both where the cleanup will take place, when it will take place, and who will carry out the cleanup in the first three counties. The cleanup will start as soon as it becomes physically feasible in the counties.

- In Vestland and Trøndelag, we aim to start already in March if the snow is gone, while we have to wait a little longer for warmer weather in Nordland. The planned start there is in May, perhaps April if possible. We will start as soon as we can, explains Mari Kristin Martinsen, responsible for the Cleanup Norway program at the Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund.

Many skilled to choose from

The operators were selected by the administration at the Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund based on a recommendation from an external nomination committee with relevant expertise in each county.

- Examples of members in the steering committee include municipalities, interest organizations, waste companies, and environmental organizations. The steering committee is led by a representative from the state administrator or county municipality, and the Center for Oil Spill and Marine Environment is always included. The steering committee contributes with important expertise and necessary local anchoring to the decision, says Martinsen.

The operators were chosen based on a comprehensive assessment of quality, competence, and price.

- We received offers from several skilled operators in all three counties, and faced a luxury problem when making our choice. We have landed on operators we are confident possess what it takes to conduct a responsible and thorough cleanup in challenging and sensitive natural environments, says Martinsen.

A national effort

Cleanup Norway is the first national cleanup program in Norway's history to systematically tackle plastic littering across the country. The Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund aims to spend over 100 million NOK on the program in 2021, and even more in the following three years.

- We are starting with 40 percent of the outer coast, and the cleanup starts now in spring. With the Cleanup Norway program, we aim to clean where more professional capacity is needed, as the areas are difficult to access, with vulnerable nature and wildlife, and where good routines for safety must be in place. Volunteers throughout the country are doing a fantastic job of cleaning the country, and now we will make a big effort together with them to remove the plastic entirely, Martinsen concludes.