Mahanpuruja muovista Campaign Launches on 17 August 2026 – Fish Decals Highlight the Impact of Littering
News
The City of Rauma is once again taking part in the Keep the Archipelago Tidy Association’s Mahanpuruja muovista campaign (Stomach ache from plastic) from 17 to 31 August 2026. The campaign makes the pathways of litter visible and encourages people to keep their environment clean.
Ten fish-themed drain decals that are part of the campaign will be installed around Rauma on Friday, 14 August. They will appear along Suvitie, on Nortamonkatu, at Poroholma, in front of Rauma Theatre and at the traffic park, among other locations. The decals bring the campaign’s message to places frequented by residents of all ages, both in the city centre and along the coast.
Litter Does Not Disappear Down a Storm Drain
The decals remind people that litter discarded on streets, such as cigarette butts, nicotine pouches and chewing gum, can be carried by stormwater into waterways and eventually the Baltic Sea. Water from street drains is generally discharged directly into the nearest body of water without treatment, and almost all of Finland lies within the Baltic Sea catchment area.
– For many people, a storm drain is an unnoticed part of the urban environment. We may have become accustomed to the idea that someone always takes care of the invisible systems around us. In the case of storm drains, however, that is not true. Litter thrown into a drain does not disappear. Instead, it can travel directly to the nearest waterway. We want to make it visible that pollution does not begin at sea, but with the everyday choices we make, says Executive Director of the Keep the Archipelago Tidy Association Katja Rytkönen.
Part of a National Campaign
Mahanpuruja muovista campaign is part of the national PlastLIFE project, which aims to promote a sustainable circular economy for plastics in Finland by 2035. The decals used in the campaign are themselves made from a material that can be recycled as metal after use.
This year marks the eighth edition of the campaign, with 21 municipalities and cities participating across Finland. For the first time, activities are also expanding to the Saimaa region.
Learn more about the campaign on the Keep the Archipelago Tidy Association website (in Finnish).