“When we started, many people thought we were crazy.”
He has been working for Hankook for almost 10 years, the last three of which he has been a technician in the EU Development Support Team. Besides his work, the young man from Dunaföldvár also loves the environment, so much so that he is a keen activist, picking up litter, educating children, running camps and building community. We asked Viktor Kocsis, a founding member of the “Aztakeservit” Value Guardian Association, about this truly noble activity.
You people have chosen a rather chatty name for the organization. Are you that disheartened by the state of your environment?
Quite so, which is why in 2013 with a group of friends we have started collecting rubbish, in a guerrilla-like way, out of defiance. 3 years later, we are now an official non-profit association, which fortunately is increasingly known and supported. Our main goal, apart from keeping our environment clean, is to promote environmental awareness and community building, and we try to achieve this in as colorful a way as possible. Every spring and autumn, we organize litter-picking events, in and around Dunaföldvár; we regularly give environmental lectures for groups from schools – now also, on an invitation basis – and we also organize camps. We also try to promote recycling by making “waste sculptures”, such as life-size deer, hummingbirds, trees of life; and, there is a sculpture of Hankook too. Our twelve-member association has also worked with Trash Art, the Gödöllő Nature Film Festival and Greenpeace, among others.
You have not only built sculptures, you have also built boats from scrap, and not just any boat! Can you tell us about that?
Yes, since 2015 we have been an active participant and partner in the annual PET Cup on the Tisza and its tributaries, where since 5 years ago we are using the same boat built from Tisza waste, to collect rubbish in the river and its floodplain. We are proud that at this year’s 10th Upper Tisza PET Cup, together with the 12 participating teams, we managed to clean the Tisza of a record amount of nearly 15 tons of waste and that we were rewarded with the “Fair Play” award for the umpteenth time. It’s always great to see the tireless work of the participating teams and it is a special pleasure when they present the winners with the cups and medals we have made from the waste.
The challenges, the requests, will certainly keep coming. What are the most immediate ones that need to be addressed?
We would like to make our own area in Erdvár, the “Base”, even more livable and beautiful, so we are planning to build a real greenhouse there, in addition to the bathrooms. Besides the usual litter-picking activities, we are also preparing to complete a lifeguard course, after which we will be ready to be deployed in more serious rescues. It’s a great feeling to be part of such a team and do what I believe in.
If you’d like to join Aztakeservit’s noble mission, feel free to contact Viktor, who we thank for his enthusiasm to protect our environment!
