What can I do
Welcome aboard to help make Helsinki litter-free!
Litter poses a threat to our living environment, causes health hazards and makes our city less attractive. You can find tips on how to contribute to reducing littering on this page.
Pick up litter and win a Museum Card!
Take action against littering by picking up and recycling rubbish at your local beach or a picnic lunch left by someone else in the park. Next, take a picture and share it on Instagram or Facebook using the hashtag #RoskatonHelsinki (‘Litter-free Helsinki’). You can win a Museum Card!* We will be raffling 10 of them every month between 1 May and 31 July.
*The winners will be notified personally.
Tips to reduce littering
Every resident can participate in making Helsinki litter-free. An easy way to start is to set an example to others and talk about the problems of littering with friends.
Here are five tips to help you get started easily:
- Do not litter – rubbish belongs in a bin, not in nature.
- Avoid unnecessary consumption and promote reuse! Second-hand clothes and items are both an environmental action and a really neat thing. If you buy something new, choose sustainably manufactured products.
- Recycle! Make sure to use the recycling facilities at home. Similarly, use recycling containers whenever possible, including at work and in public places. HSY has a handy waste guide on how waste should be recycled!
- Avoid buying unnecessary plastic! Next time, buy a shampoo bar instead of a plastic bottle, favour sustainably made products and carry them in a reusable bag.
- Take part in litter picking! If you pick up one piece of litter a day, one less piece will end up in nature. You can borrow litter pickers from the library!
Follow these steps if you notice littering
If you see discarded furniture or household appliances by the roadside or in the forest, report it as an environmental hazard on the City’s website. Furthermore, garden waste, such as twigs, branches or grass clippings, must not be left in city areas, such as forests or parks. The best place for these is the Sortti Station or a private, appropriate compost bin.
Did you know that in 2023, over 90,000 euros of taxpayers’ money was spent on cleaning up illegal dumping sites? If you notice fly-tipping, report it immediately! Even a small dumping site will easily attract more waste around it and turn into a large site.
If your housing company’s bins are constantly overflowing and rubbish is spreading into the environment, please contact your property manager first. If that does not help, you can notify the environmental monitoring unit.
