New clean-up stations will be installed around Espoo

Clean-up stations provide rubbish bags and borrowable litter grippers for communities, schools, companies and residents in Espoo. The stations help residents keep the local environment clean. An application process for becoming a clean-up station coordinator was organised last spring (1 April–31 May 2025). Coordinators and locations for the five clean-up stations were then chosen based on the applications.

The new clean-up stations will be delivered to the chosen locations during next autumn. The new clean-up stations will be installed at Matinkylä beach,at the Angry Birds park in Suurpelto, at Tuohisniity in Viherlaakso, near water sports centre Laguuni in Keilaniemi and outside Comfort Hotel Sello in Leppävaara. There are currently three clean-up stations for residents in Espoo, located at the City Garden in Vanttila, outside Café Otsolahti in Tapiola and outside Café Mellsten in Haukilahti.

A nearby clean-up station can lower peoples’ threshold for looking after the environment, as cleaning equipment is made easily available. Clean-up stations also remind people of the importance of looking after the environment. Clean-up events for local areas make them more comfortable to live in and bring the residents together.

The Suurpelto clean-up station will be installed at the Angry Birds park. The association Suurpelto-seura will act as the coordinator of the clean-up station. According to Suurpelto-seura members Kirsti Strömmer, Eira Mononen and Leila Heimonen, the residents of Suurpelto are quite active in taking care of their local environment. Twice a year, Suurpelto-seura organises the Siisti Suurpelto clean-up event, where people work together to clean the local area. The association hopes that the new clean-up station will inspire local residents to also clean up their surroundings during the rest of the year.

The Matinkylä beach clean-up station will be installed near the changing rooms, making it easy to find when walking to the beach from the parking area. The clean-up station can make communal clean-up activities more visible to the many visitors at the beach. Igor Buyanov, coordinator of the new clean-up station, hopes that the station will inspire people to look after the environment.

The Viherlaakso clean-up station will be installed at Tuohisniitty, where it will be close to many cycling paths and walking routes. Located close to a playground and a grass field, the station will be easily accessible to passers-by.

The Leppävaara clean-up station will be installed in front of Comfort Hotel Sello at the Sello shopping centre. Keeping the environment in Leppävaara clean is important for the hotel; during the past few years, Comfort Hotel Sello has organised clean-up days together with the nearby Ruusutorpan koulu comprehensive school. According to the hotel’s General Manager Petri Uronen, environmental responsibility is an important value for the hotel chain, and the hotel is therefore also happy to participate in concrete actions that benefit the local environment.