The 5th World Cleanup Day took place on 17 September and saw all Estonian Aviation- Tallinn Airport, the Nordic Aviation Group, Estonian Air Navigation Services and Magnetic MRO come together in the name of a cleaner and healthier environment.
The transport sector currently accounts for around 30% of all carbon emissions, of which just 4% are attributable to aviation. “The carbon footprint that aviation leaves behind isn’t all that big, comparatively, but the aviation community as a whole is aware of the impact it has and works every day to find ways of being environmentally friendly,” said Anneli Turkin, a member of the management board of Tallinn Airport. “That’s why it was so great for all of us to get together, don our gloves and do what we could for a better environment as part of World Cleanup Day.”
The aviation companies joined forces to clean up the park at Stroomi Beach, which mostly involved collecting small items of rubbish. “That includes cigarette butts, which are considered one of the biggest litter issues worldwide because the filters aren’t biodegradable,” Turkin explained. “Untold millions of them end up in the environment every year. In Tallinn, aviation is centred around Lake Ülemiste and water from the sewerage system flows directly into Tallinn Bay, which is why we’re so passionate about the cleanliness of our waterways, both here in the capital and around the country. In cleaning up the beachfront, we’ve made our own modest contribution to that.”
The four companies worked together to help make World Cleanup Day a success. “The aviation sector operates 24/7, so I’m glad there were people in all of our companies who were able to find the time to dedicate themselves to doing something for the environment,” Turkin added.
