Why is there garbage in the river again?

We carefully chose when to film this video. The snow, covering and gently warming the ground during winter, has just melted, and spring hasn’t yet come to turn everything green. A moment when our carelessness as human beings is most apparent, and there is nothing to cover the ugly reality.

Here is the Banshtitsa River – small but powerful. The river carries tons of waste which flows into the Struma River. The river runs through several large settlements near the town of Kyustendil.

Where does waste come from in the Struma River?

The Banshtitsa River is one of the pollution sources in the Struma River, but it’s not the only one. Here is how our investigation began and what we’ve learned from the local people whose daily example inspired us.

What are we going to do?

There’s no time to wait. Here are the steps we are going to take in the next two months:

1. Using specialized equipment, we will entirely clean up the Banshtitsa River in the section from the Iztok neighborhood to its flow into the Struma River at the beginning of the summer. The Municipality of Kyustendil, the West Aegean River Basin Directorate, the Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Kyustendil, and other partners support the action organization.
2. We will construct/place special floating litter traps along the banks of the Banshtitsa and Struma rivers. They will facilitate the collection of light waste, mostly plastic.
3. Together with the responsible institutions in the neighborhood and with the support of Kyustendil Municipality, we will initiate the necessary changes in waste collection and transportation in the Iztok neighborhood.
4. We will relocate the waste containers in settlements away from the river to prevent forming of illegal dumps near the Struma River.
5. Together with the municipality of Kyustendil and partner companies, we will organize a better waste separation and recycling system in the area.

We are thrilled to attract more and more like-minded people to contribute to our vision for clean Bulgarian rivers. We firmly believe in this cause. Thank you for supporting us!

Thrust us we will succeed. We’re neither the first nor the only ones who see the needed changes and do what they need to do. Whatever has to happen, will.’ Metodi from harmonica.