Cleaners have cleaned up about 66 tons of waste in the center of Amsterdam after the Canal Parade, a spokeswoman for the municipality said on Sunday. This concerns waste from trash cans, from specially placed containers and litter. “That’s quite a lot,” said the spokeswoman.
An extra cleaning crew worked through the night. At 06:00 the day shift started again. On Sunday is the last party in honor of Pride in the Dutch capital. This year’s theme was ‘My Gender, My Pride’. Before the party, the municipality has put extra effort into cleaning every day.
In order to prevent as much waste as possible in the canals with the Canal Parade, the municipality provides all boat owners with waste bags with a Pride logo and ashtrays. However, a lot of waste was also found in the canals, says a spokesperson for Waternet. “We’ll be working on that for the rest of the week.”
A lot of waste has already been removed from the water, but it is possible that there is still waste on the side or between houseboats. The cleaners will come across this waste again at a later time, according to the Waternet spokesperson. “It is a lot. That happens more often on such days, also with King’s Day for example.” If the waste is not fished out of the canals, it can eventually flow to the North Sea, “with all kinds of consequences for the environment, plants and animals”.
Since 2019, a so-called Bubble Barrier has been located in the Westerdok. The air bubbles that come out of a tube at the bottom collect plastic, including the smaller particles. “These receptacles were also fairly full,” says the spokesperson.