Since 2007, the Interest Group for a Clean Environment (IGSU) has been working to combat litter. The organization focuses primarily on prevention and awareness-raising in order to encourage people to take responsibility for their waste.
A cigarette butt here, a fast food wrapper there: although Switzerland is generally considered to be clean, litter is also omnipresent in our country. People who carelessly throw away or leave their waste on streets, squares or parks are damaging the environment – and also give rise to high cleanup costs. The Federal Office for the Environment estimates the costs generated by the litter problem in Switzerland at around CHF 200 million.
The Interest Group for a Clean Environment (IGSU) has set itself the goal of combating the problem of litter in Switzerland. Since 2007, the organization has been active throughout the country in the fight against litter. The main objective of IGSU is to contain the problem in the long term. “In doing so, we are focusing specifically on the personal responsibility of ordinary people,” explains Nora Steimer, Managing Director of IGSU.
Numerous measures
To achieve its goal, IGSU supports cities, municipalities and other stakeholders in planning and implementing their own anti-litter action. In addition, the organization is working with prominent IGSU ambassadors against littering. These ambassadors make people aware of the issue in public places and at events. Awareness-raising work in schools also plays an important role.
40,000 clean up together
One of IGSU's best-known initiatives is National Clean-Up Day. On this day, committed citizens, school classes, associations and other organizations join together to clean up public places, streets and meadows. “Initiatives such as Clean-Up Day get incredible popular support,” says a delighted Nora Steimer. It’s clear to her: “People want to contribute to a clean environment and are prepared to use their free time to do so." On Clean-Up Day 2019 alone, over 650 clean-up actions were registered. In total, an estimated 40,000 participants took part in the clean-up days in September – a record number.
The aim: to change people's attitudes in the long term
JTI has also been actively involved in National Clean-Up Day for several years. Since 2013, the company has also supported the IGSU poster awareness raising campaign, which calls in to the major Swiss cities every summer. Passers-by sign their names to declare that they are throwing rubbish into the tub. According to Nora Steimer, events such as the Clean-Up Day or the poster campaign have not only a short-term but also a long-term effect. “High-profile events like this are noticed by a lot of people. This is exactly what is needed so that people can rethink their attitudes in the long term”.
IGSU
The Interest Group for a Clean Environment ( IGSU) is the Swiss competence center against litter. Since 2007, it has been engaged nationally in preventive awareness-raising campaign for a clean Switzerland. One of IGSU 's best known events is National Clean-Up Day, which takes place every year in the fall. JTI supports the IGSU in various projects and is also actively involved in Clean-Up Day every year.