We are often asked how much trash we pull out of the fjord each week and year, how many volunteers join us, and how many events we organise – well here it is!
In 2023 we took 20.000 kg of rubbish out of the Akerselva River and the Inner Oslo Fjord.
Yes, you heard that right – 20 tonnes of pollution was removed by Fjord CleanUP voluntary members! That’s the equivalent of 4 large elephants, 4 trucks, or the anchor of a cruise ship. And remember this is without the use of specialist cleaning boats or lifting equipment… every piece big and small is hauled out by hand by free divers, paddlers, and people helping from shore – this is because our cleaning operation is set up so we can reach rubbish from the street, the waters surface, and the seabed/river bottom.
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| Number of events | 28 | 52 | 66 |
| Number of volunteers | 581 | 1113 | 645 |
| Rubbish collected (kg) | 5150 | 6000 | 20.000 |
| Number of bikes | 67 | ||
| Number of scooters | 127 |
It is worth noting that weight alone does not tell the whole story. Whilst heavy items like bicycles and scooters contribute significantly to the overall weight collected, the small pieces of trash are just as dangerous to marine life (if not more so) and much harder to pick up. Snus, cigarette ends, syringes, cans, bottles and fishing equipment are just some of the objects we retrieve every week.
Ideally, these things would not end up in the fjord at all. Everyone can do what they can to help by always disposing of waste carefully. However, we believe we also need better regulations and rubbish facilities in Oslo to help tackle this problem at the root causes – change needs to come from the top and whoever is up there, we plan on getting their attention!
“Enough talk, lets clean!”