“Rīgas Meži”'s new video surveillance system has detected that, in the space of an hour, a certain “hero” dumped waste from a car into the forest twice. Information regarding both incidents has been handed over to the police. The funds spent on waste collection last year are equivalent to the sum required to grow about 300,000 pine seedlings.
On the afternoon of Sunday, 3 April, the same person dumped waste into the forest twice in broad daylight from the boot of the same vehicle. Materials obtained from the new “STROPS Technologies” forest surveillance system and an on-site inspection indicate that the man dumped several dozen kilograms of construction waste in the forest.
“Rīgas Meži” has already reported that since mid-February, a new and modern “STROPS Technologies” video surveillance system has been deployed across the company's territories. Its goal is to reduce illegal waste dumping, prevent environmental pollution and degradation, and promptly identify those littering the forest. The new system operates alongside several dozen video surveillance cameras already located on company lands, the locations of which are changed periodically.
This is already the third incident this year where cameras placed in the capital's forests have identified malicious forest polluters. “Rīgas Meži” is cooperating with the police regarding the information recorded by the cameras.
The volume of waste dumped in “Rīgas Meži” territories increases every year – including construction waste, household waste, tyres, and hazardous waste, such as asbestos sheeting. For example, in the first three months of this year, more than 420 t of waste was removed, costing the company – and therefore the residents of Riga – almost €32,000. In 2021, the volume of collected waste was 1500 t and about 1000 m3, as well as more than 30 t of tyres. Last year, “Rīgas Meži”'s costs for waste disposal exceeded €70,000. For such an amount, “Rīgas Meži” could grow about 300,000 pine seedlings. That is approximately one-third of the pine seedlings the company plants each year to regenerate the forest, to ensure a healthy living space for future generations, and to mitigate the negative impact of climate change.