We must assure that by 2020 only 10 percent of household waste reaches landfills in Hungary, the Ministry of Rural Development's Minister of State for Environmental Affairs said on Tuesday at the press conference organised to announce the latest TeSzedd ("You Pick It!") litter collection drive.

Some 70 percent of household waste is currently transported to landfills in Hungary, and some HUF 120-150 billion forints (EUR 400-500 million) worth of litter is wasted each year because it is not recycled.

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The latest TeSzedd drive, to be held from 9-11 May, is timed to coincide with the European Union's Let's Clean Up Europe initiative that will take place on 10 May, the Minister of State indicated.

This is the fourth time that the Ministry has organised the TeSzedd national litter collection drive, and this year the organisers are primarily aiming to increase environmental awareness among young people. This is also one of the reasons' why secondary school children can also choose to take part in the drive as part of the compulsory community service now required for them to receive their school leaving certificate. 150-200 thousand people are expected to take in the community drive this year.

Managing Director of the National Waste Management Agency Oszkár Vámosi told Hungarian news agency MTI that the mount of household waste generated annually in Hungary is some 4 million tons, of which some 3 million tons is deposited in landfills, while the remaining 1 million tons are colleted selectively or burned.

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In reply to a question from MTI, Mr. Illés said that the primary goal is for no waste to be generated, but if it is generated then for it to be collected selectively and for the maximum possible level of recycling to occur, with any non-recyclable waste being cleansed and converted into combustible material that can be burned. This is the purpose of the various, mainly financial, motivational tools provided by the Government, he pointed out.

There are several development projects underway around the country that are aimed at increasing the level of recycling, the Minister of State said, citing as an example a company operating in and around the city of Pécs, which is constructing a waste selection unit aimed at recycling 60 percent of all household waste generated within the region by the end of this year.

Mr. Illés also mentioned that construction waste provided the greatest volume of waste generated in the country, and the Government is working on ways to encourage the collection and recycling of waste generated at building sites.

(Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)