The Mayor of Funchal, Miguel Silva Gouveia, accompanied by the Vice-President, Idalina Perestrelo, thanked and presented certificates to the volunteers from the Public Security Police (PSP), National Republican Guard (GNR), Garrison Regiment nº3 (RG3) and the Madeiran Voluntary Firefighters (BVM) who participated in the global campaign ‘Clean Up the World – Clean Funchal from the Sea to Mountains.’
Almost 1400 volunteers took part in a multi layered initiative which saw them cleaning river beds, outside public areas, beaches and schools. Praising them, the Mayor said that this colossal group effort had achieved great results by highlighting environmental causes and creating a cleaner city.
Miguel Silva Gouveia went on to say that “this campaign emphasises the need for environmental education, where we need to raise the populations awareness of the detrimental effect excessive waste pollution creates. We want to bring about a change in habits, especially in reversing the ever increasing demand for disposable items. The City Council has been associated with the global campaign for some years, and the six tonnes of rubbish collected in 2019 surpassed all previous years totals.”
The ‘Clean Up the World’ campaign is part of the United Nations Environment programme and aims to raise awareness about cleaning and conserving the environment, through the use of volunteers. It is estimated that annually 35 million volunteers from 133 countries take part in the initiative.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
