Join A Clean Sweep
Nico van Paridon started the campaign Ik-Prik-Mee, meaning Join A Clean Sweep, in the summer of 2007. As an amateur runner he runs his weekly rounds on the Bussum Heath. Yet, he was getting annoyed at all the caboodle that he saw, like tin cans, soft drink bottles, sweets wrappers, and even worse. However, he has put his annoyance into action and on his laps he started to pick up litter. Armed with a plastic refuse bag and a simple pair of kitchen tongs he picked up all trash that he stumbles across. Every week he empties a big plastic bag full of garbage into his rubbish bin.
Already soon after he had begun picking up litter on the Bussum Heath walkers talked to Nico saying that they thought he did a great job by his actions, and that they should join him, and this is how the campaign actually started. This gave Nico the idea to promote making a clean sweep, however not only in Bussum, but also in the Netherlands nationwide. Ik-Prik-Mee (www.ikprikmee.nl) now encourages people to adopt their round on the heath or in the woods or the park and tidy up, for instance once a week or once a month. It means voluntary work that costs only little time that you can begin at any moment and tempo. This picking up project appeals to everyone: hikers, holiday-makers, Nordic Walkers and people walking the dog.
In 2008 the campaign Ik-Prik-Mee should be made more widely known, having in mind that more and more people will join the campaign and that tidying away street litter will become an accepted custom. Litter will vanish little by little from woods, parks and streets. And children will learn at an early age wrappers and cans should not be left on the street or in the park.
Two pillars
A platform for participants
The Ik-Prik-Mee campaign aims to be a platform in the first place for all people in the Netherlands who already wish to contribute their mite one way or another. For this purpose the www.ikprikmee.nl website has been started where people -on a Google Earth application and a forum- may indicate where they are active. In this way the volunteers will see that they are not the only people who pick up rubbish.
Lending out litter tongs
In the second place the project will establish spots where people may easily borrow litter tongs all over the Netherlands. So they may put into practice the idea of Ik-Prik-Mee, taking along a pair of litter tongs with them during their walk. Currently you will find ten litter tongs at each of the twenty visitor centres of both the Dutch Forestry Commission and the Dutch National Nature Reserves, all sponsored by the Dutch railway company Nederlandse Spoorwegen.
The litter tongs will be lent out to visitors who like to support the campaign during their walk and will pick up all the caboodle that they come across. These walkers receive a bag or a bucket from the organisations and on return they will put the rubbish into a special Ik-Prik-Mee dust bin. Particularly children like to join, because to them it is almost exciting like a hunt. Children will enjoy when they find litter and clear it away. At some of the spots children receive a small gift.
Along the year 2008 extra lending out points will be created near schools, old people's homes, recreation parks, nature education centres and local government offices. Ik-Prik-Mee hopes to secure the support of the business community and the organization for the Clean Netherlands Stichting Nederland Schoon.
