Tauragiškis, who take care of gardens and private plots, put tree branches into containers, and throw old tires on the roadside. Waste carriers and elders warn that those who sort waste improperly will be fined.
Tauragė city elder Žilvinas Majus informed that the cameras attached to the garbage collection sites are constantly rotated, so it becomes easier to find malicious litterers. Dumping green waste into or near mixed waste containers will be identified and fined.
– There is no big problem, but like every year, this year too there are residents who dump garbage where it doesn’t belong. After tidying up your plot, tree branches should be taken to the green waste collection point. If the residents pile the branches near the containers, they become my responsibility and the council has to hire “Dunokus” and pay for the removal of such waste. That money comes from our common pocket, said the elder.
According to Ž. Majaus, he himself has seen how residents bring garbage to the containers in a car trailer, and he assures that it used to be possible to load it here for free. But for now, there are more problems in the city ward due to discarded car tires.
– If one person did something bad, it doesn’t mean that you can follow them and do the same. We are constantly collecting discarded tires. Between the New Year and the beginning of March, I added 98 tires. There is a constant struggle with such polluters. We take the tires to the landfill, and at the end of the month we receive an invoice, – said Ž. Majus.
Giedrė Macienė, the chairwoman of the gardeners’ association “Atžalynas” operating in Juodpetriai in the Tauragė district, is happy that there are not many litterers in the association of over 120 members.
– Residents themselves figure out where to put the pruned tree branches. We do not have any special collection points for branches. I know a few gardeners have purchased branch choppers, others chop up the branches and use them to grill meat. “I don’t know where others put their green waste, but no one throws it near the branches of garbage containers,” said the chairman of the association.
Giedrė Macienė, who has been leading the community for several years, noticed that gardeners take many branches straight to the forest. According to the interlocutor, none of these scavengers have been arrested yet.
– There are several gardening communities around here and when we go for a walk in the forest, we see piles of branches. There is one place in the forest where people have been bringing and dumping green waste for several years. We don’t have special sites, the residents have nowhere to put that waste, so that’s the way it is, – the chairman regretted.
When asked if she is considering setting up public branch collection areas in the gardens in the spring, the chairman hesitated whether the gardeners would agree to pay a higher fee and order such a service.
Zelma Okienė, head of the community “Dobilas” operating in the Joniškės gardens, informed that for several years the community has created a system for collecting green waste, specifically – branches of pruned trees.
– We pay for the removal of branches from the community’s funds. Annually, such works cost 181 or 121 euros, depending on how many plots need to be cleaned. The places to which they bring the pruned branches are discussed with the gardeners. The special support of the municipality for garden associations helps us a lot when it comes to taking care of the gardens. We really don’t have any problems with green waste. People are sorting them in an orderly manner, – the chairman was happy.
When asked if there are abandoned plots in the communities they lead, the chairwomen claimed that the situation is improving.
– There are maybe four state plots of land that are not maintained by the municipality, we do not have the funds and capacity to manage those plots ourselves, – said G. Macienė.
The chairman of the “Dobilo” community assured that it is the most difficult to contact the owners of garden plots who have emigrated. Particularly abandoned plots are maintained by the community several times a year, the grass is cut several times a year, some plots are cleaned by neighbors.
The owners of private houses living in the city can load the chopped branches into green waste containers. Residents of the villages should compost the branches on their plot or take them to the green waste collection point in the village of Kaupiai.
