The PLASTIC Cup initiative, and its volunteers, the Plastic Pirates assess waste pollution along the entire Tisza River. Their activities affect all countries (Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia) in the Tisza water catchment area. The final episode of the Clean Water-Happy Tisza project, implemented with the support of the International Investment Bank (IIB), takes form in a long Tisza expedition from the source to the estuary. During the voyage of discovery, PLASTIC Cup volunteers sail along the river, surveying the largest riverine waste deposits in order to create a pollution map. The Hungarian Upper Tisza region is already well known, but they also want to get an idea of the pollution of the Ukrainian, Romanian and Serbian sections of the river.
Previously, under the name of #petcamino, the project surveyed the floodplain forest on both banks of the Tisza in the Hungarian section, marking the waste sites in the TrashOut application. This is how the Clean Tisza Map was born (www.tisztatiszaterkep.hu), where the contaminated and cleaned areas recorded on-line are constantly updated. The Tisza Expedition started on July 23 from the source of the Tisza under the leadership of an experienced river guard captain, Csanád Ivánfi from Transcarpathia. The Hungarian border was crossed at Tiszabecs, where the expedition joined the 9th PLASTIC Cup long distance river cleanup boat race. Captain Csanád regularly posts a video diary online (#tiszaexpedicio, #petcamino) and his current position can be followed on the official expedition website (www.petkupa.hu/expedicio). The expedition will dock at several locations during the voyage and showcase river pollution, its causes, and the results of river cleanup work through an exhibition. In addition to the exhibition, the residents of the settlements can also join the river rescue campaigns. The ship is expected to reach the Danube at Titel and finish the expedition in Belgrade in October, 2021.
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