Ákos Balázs, deputy mayor of Debrecen, and municipal representatives Aurélia Ibolya Orosz and József Hetei presented the details at a press conference on Petőfi Square on March 14, 2024.
The spring clean-up has started in Debrecen this year as well, and we would like to inform the city’s citizens about this, said Ákos Balázs, deputy mayor responsible for environmental protection and city operations. As he pointed out, at the beginning of this local government cycle, the general assembly adopted a new city management concept, in which the green approach appeared strongly. It was then that the regular spring cleanings started in Debrecen. The city management concept has several measures that are also important from an environmental protection point of view, which is why several of them were included in the measures of the recently adopted Green Codex – especially about the protection of the city’s air quality. The citizens of the city were also able to learn about the measures of the Green Codex and comment on them via the Internet, and about 60,000 votes were received as part of this. As it became clear from the opinions, the order and cleanliness of the city are extremely important for the people of Debrecen, since the measure called “Cleaner roads for a healthier environment” among the 50 programs of the Green Codex came in 5th place in the voting on the order of importance of the individual measures. This also shows the special importance of spring cleaning. The spring clean-up has started, in the framework of which large-scale machine cleaning of roads, roadside cleaning, and manual and mechanical cleaning of sidewalks, bicycle paths, and parking spaces in the City Center and the Big Forrest will take place. During the works, the dirt and dust deposited during the winter will be removed, thereby reducing the amount of dust in the air of the city. In connection with these works, Ákos Balázs asked for the drivers’ cooperation and help, since the parking spaces’ cleaning can only take place if the motorists leave them free for the duration of the works. Those performing this work in the affected areas will announce this in advance.
The spring cleaning works also include garbage collection, mowing lawns due to the early arrival of spring, raking for aeration, pruning shrubs, digging up, rotating and disinfecting playground sandboxes, cutting back flowers, perennials and roses, cleaning and disinfecting benches, waste bins disinfection, cleaning, bus stops – and also the underpass on Petőfi tér, for example.
In addition to the spring cleaning, to keep the roads clean – also as part of the measures of the Green Codex – will also start soon. This also results in a reduction in the amount of airborne dust, as dust and dirt accumulated on the pavements over the years are removed. As Ákos Balázs said, since 2020 such works have been carried out on around 17,500 square meters in the city, and they intend to continue this in the future.
From now on, the spring cleaning will cover all parts of Debrecen and will take place over an expected period of 5 weeks. A total of 130 employees of Dekert Kft., as well as businesses under contract with the local government, participate in it with around 400 small and large machines. A total of 5 million square meters of surfaces are maintained in Debrecen’s green areas every year. Still, the spring cleanup affects even more, 6 million square meters, the deputy mayor pointed out.
According to Aurélia Orosz Ibolya, the local government representative of the district, Petőfi tér is the city’s gate, as we enter Debrecen here by train. In the recent period, this square has been renovated as part of the Green City Program, and a tidy, beautiful environment awaits those coming home and guests of the city. Aurélia Ibolya Orosz has been the municipal representative of the district that includes Petőfi Square since 2014, and as she said, she can proudly say that this part of the city is becoming more and more beautiful. As the representative indicated, spring cleaning and the beautification of the living environment will also begin in his area, for example, on Vincellér Street. However, to maintain a beautiful and orderly state, the care and attention of the city’s citizens is also necessary, since it is in the interest of all of us to live in an aesthetic and beautiful city.
Municipal representative József Hetei emphasized that all initiatives and programs only gain their true meaning and purpose if we can take care of their results, preserve them and thereby become sustainable. As a teacher, together with his colleagues at school, he educates the students to take care of our environment together, to protect the world around us together. Therefore, he also asked the people of Debrecen to jointly protect the cleanliness of our city even after the spring cleaning of the city.
(debrecen.hu)
