The Vantaa River begins at a street drain – please don't pollute the waterways with your trash.

The city of Riihimäki is once again participating in the Keep the Archipelago Tidy campaign, Mahanpuruja muoista (Mahanpuruja made from plastic). The campaign uses perch and pike stickers around street rainwater wells to alert residents to the fact that waste from the wells flows directly into waterways.

– The city of Riihimäki is participating in the campaign for the fourth time. Most of the city's stormwater flows into the Vantaa River, which is home to endangered trout, among other things. That's why it's important to raise awareness about how garbage that ends up on the streets ends up in waterways, says city gardener Päivi Sundman.

The fish around the street drains remind you with their gaping mouths that the drain is not a garbage dump. In Riihimäki, the stickers can be seen, for example, near the Merkos shopping center, in Granit Square, and in front of the library. There are about ten locations in total. The stickers will be visible for about two to four weeks.

Street drains lead directly to the Vantaajoki River

Cigarette butts, nicotine pouches, cigarette butts and plastic wrappers thrown on the ground are carried by wind and rainwater into street drains. Most street drains discharge untreated stormwater directly into the nearest watercourse, which is the Vantaanjoki River in Riihimäki.

Lack of knowledge is still a key reason for littering. For example, many people don't know that cigarette butt filters contain plastic. Plastics are a terrible problem in nature because they don't disappear, but break down into ever smaller microplastics.

The "Mahanpuruja plastica" campaign will be seen in 21 locations across Finland this year, from Kemi to Helsinki. The campaign aims to raise awareness about the routes of litter and remind people that protecting waterways starts on the street.

Presentation of the Plastic Waste campaign (pidasaaristosiistina.fi)