Mullerthal Cleanup Initiative Announced as part of World Cleanup Day

The Regional Tourist Office of the Mullerthal Region – Luxembourg’s Little Switzerland has announced that it is organising a two-day cleanup on the weekend of 19 to 20 September 2020. 

With many visitors from abroad as well as Luxembourg residents having spent their "Vakanz Doheem" (staycation) this summer exploring the Mullerthal region, this growing interest coincided with increased littering along the hiking paths.

President of the tourist office, Christophe Origer, commented: "As regional tourist office, we are happy about the big interest in our region. We are just sorry to see that a high attendance also means more littering along the hiking paths. As [a regional tourist office] we received a lot of emails or we were tagged on social media concerning the rubbish along the hiking trails and in the region itself".

Mr Origer added: "The careless attitude of throwing away rubbish by excursion guests who consider our region as an amusement park is not only unsightly but a real problem for animals and the environment. We have the responsibility to protect our nature and to preserve it for the following generations. We would therefore like to draw attention to the problem with our Clean Up Days and contribute to waste disposal. We thus join the UN-supported World Clean Up Day which will take place on 19 September worldwide and which has not yet been carried out in Luxembourg".

Along with its partners, the regional tourist office is organising this two-day “Clean Up Days Mëllerdall” on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September 2020. Through social networks and traditional media, the organisers will invite the public to take part in the campaign. The Natur- & Geopark Mëllerdall, committed to the UN sustainability goals as part of its candidacy as a UNESCO Global Geopark, also supports the event.

In addition, the Geotope Day from the Natur- & Geopark Mëllerdall will take place on Sunday 20 September 2020, from 14:00 to 17:30, with a guided geological hike through the Huel Lee in Berdorf. Registration is via tel.: 268-78291 or email: info@naturpark-mellerdall.lu.

To collect as much rubbish as possible and avoid having too many people heading for the same hiking trails, those interested in participating should register via tel.: 720-457-1 or email: info@mullerthal.lu,  so that the hiking trails can be allocated.

The collected rubbish will then be brought to collection points in every municipality, on Saturday until 19:00 and on Sunday until 17:00. Along with the municipalities, the Nature Administration will take care of disposing the rubbish afterwards.

The national climbing federation FLERA is also organising a cleanup action that same weekend, on Saturday 19 September from 09:00 to 20:00, at the Wanterbaach climbing site in Berdorf. More information is available at https://www.flera.lu/blog/clean-day-wanterbaach-%C3%A0-berdorf-2020.

Anyone taking part in this campaign does so at their own risk and must adhere to COVID-19-related distancing rules. Groups are thus limited to a maximum of ten people. Participants should also bring their own gloves and rubbish bags. 

After the collection, participants can post a photo of themselves with their rubbish bag on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #cleanupdaysmellerdall or send the photo to info@mullerthal.lu. From all the photos, some winners will be selected to win some Mullerthal-related souvenirs.