Who will clean the waterways in Innlandet?

The Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund has set goals to clean prioritized watercourses, Svalbard, and 40 percent of the outer coast by the end of 2023. The Cleanup Norway program was launched in the autumn of 2020, and cleanup operations are now underway in ten counties.

- It has been progressing steadily. Since the autumn of 2020, we have announced cleanup tasks along Norway's entire coastline, and now we are finally starting with the watercourses. We are looking forward to this, says Therese Fosholt Moe, responsible for Cleanup Norway Innlandet and project manager at the Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund.

Opportunity for local employment

The task in Innlandet is divided into three cleanup zones. Cleanup operators can submit tenders for one or more zones.

- We hope local actors see this as a good opportunity to clean up their local environment. Along the coast, we have seen that many local actors have wanted to take on the tasks, and many have also been employed for the cleanup work. This leads to increased activity in the county, and also local employment - a bonus in addition to the fact that we are getting rid of the plastic waste, says Fosholt Moe.

The Dokkadeltaet National Wetlands Center administers Cleanup Norway Innlandet on behalf of the Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund.

- The main focus is on protected areas that are currently announced, and these require special considerations during cleanup. In addition to protection, cleanup along watercourses is affected by water flow, snowmelt, and autumn floods, so the announced areas require extra expertise and focus on HSE from the cleanup operators, says Andrea Rishatt, advisor at the Dokkadeltaet National Wetlands Center.

Our own waste

The sources of plastic waste vary in different parts of the country and from coast to inland.

- Along the coast, we find much of our own waste, but also plastic that has come with ocean currents from many different countries. However, the plastic along our watercourses is 100 percent our own, so we have no excuses here, says Fosholt Moe.

The type of waste varies with the type of activity found along the different watercourses. Reports from Hold Norge Rent and Dokkadeltaet show that generally, food and beverage packaging, polystyrene (EPS), and unidentified plastic pieces top the list, with as much as 70 percent of the waste along our watercourses being plastic.

- Many might think that plastic littering is something only found along the coast or in watercourses in more exotic areas, but we also find considerable amounts of waste along our watercourses. Especially where there is car access or areas with a lot of human activity, we see a lot of plastic. So there is no doubt that a significant effort is needed to ensure a sustainable environment for nature and wildlife, also here in Innlandet, says Fosholt Moe.