The national TeSzedd! (“You Pick It!”) litter collection drive has come to a successful close once again with a record 1,025 settlements joining the initiative in 2013, Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Zoltán Illés told the press in Budapest today.

The campaign, which attracted more than 100 thousand volunteers who helped clean up areas in their neighborhood, was held on 14 September. This year, some 5-6000 tons of litter was collected.

DownloadPhoto: Csaba Pelsőczy

The Minister of State mentioned that recent opinion polls show that the Hungarian population is getting more and more environmentally conscious, highlighting the role of education in this respect as well as government incentives to promote environmental awareness.

He also called for the importance of a so-called “Green Commando” in which authorities, including the Ministry for Rural Development and the National Tax and Customs Authority (NAV), will come together to seek action against the illegal dumping of waste.

DownloadPhoto: Csaba Pelsőczy

TeSzedd!, Hungary's nationwide environmental clean-up campaign has been organised every year since 2011 and has been gaining increasing popularity.

(Ministry of Rural Development)