The campaign for cleaning up the area of the famous Seven Rila Lakes in Bulgaria resulted in 2.5 tonnes of waste collected.

80 volunteers from across the country, as well as from Poland, Britain and France participated in the August 24-29 campaign launched by “For the Earth” environmental organization.

Trash was collected from hidden dumps in the area, as well as around the lakes themselves, which, due to easy access, are frequented by many tourists and holidaymakers.

That was the opinion of “For the Earth” environmentalists, who deplored the launch of a new lift leading to the Seven Lakes in 2009. The controversial lift's legality is dubious.

Environmentalists also called for adequate waste management on the part of mountain huts and cabins.

It is not clear whether the 2.5 tonnes of trash collected is much or little in relative terms, as a similar clean-up has not been conducted in the Seven Lakes area. Earlier environmentalists had reported that while 3-4 years ago, in a similar campaign in Stara Planina mountains, they had removed 7 tonnes of waste, in the latest one in the same area, they had to haul only 2-3 tons.