Changeable but warmer weather in Hesse: Latest news from Frankfurt & Hesse

Frankfurt. More than 50 volunteer groups have collected garbage on the banks of the Rhine in Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. Nationwide, around 40,000 volunteers took part in the “RhineCleanUp” campaign, clearing not only the Rhine but also 28 other rivers of around 300 tons of garbage, as initiator Joachim Umbach said in the afternoon. Although around 10,000 fewer people participated in 2023, the total amount of waste collected remained roughly the same.

The aim of the new campaign is to collect as much garbage as possible from the river banks – also to raise awareness of the pollution of the rivers. “If you mobilize 40,000 people, that's gigantic,” said Umbach. The amount of garbage has not decreased over the past few years, but it has become smaller overall because larger amounts of garbage were already collected in previous years.

The garbage collection campaign consists of local actions that are bundled together on one day. They are organized by local communities, schools, clubs or neighborhood groups, for example. The initiative provides garbage bags, gloves and grabbers. (dpa.)