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Free coffees and meals for tourists who pick up litter in Copenhagen
CopenPay scheme invites visitors on holiday in Danish capital to take part in green tasks to offset impact on environment
Tourists in Copenhagen will receive free coffees, glasses of wine and kayak trips if they take part in environmentally friendly tasks during their holiday under a new scheme.
From July 15, tourists who pick up litter, use public transport or bicycle around the city will be given the perks as part of efforts to offset their impact on the environment.
The CopenPay scheme, which is designed to counterbalance the environmental “burden” of tourists flying to Copenhagen, is described as a “little step towards the green transition”.
The scheme will be trust-based, as many of the businesses taking part will not usually ask for proof before handing over a free coffee or a meal for the tourist’s efforts.
“When you travel abroad – if you fly to other places or you travel by car – you pollute,” Rikke Holm Petersen, the head of the Copenhagen tourism board, told the BBC.
“One of the things we can change is getting people to act more sustainably at the destination.”
More than 20 restaurants, cafes, kayak expedition organisers and other businesses have signed up for the scheme and will not be reimbursed for the free perks.
The tourism board expects that a “small percentage” of tourists, who make about 12 million overnight stays per year in the Danish capital, will take part in the scheme.
Some ways of receiving the perks are very straightforward, such as riding a bike or taking public transport. Others require tourists to get their hands dirty – literally.
A free vegetarian lunch is on offer to tourists who volunteer with weeding, harvesting and other minor tasks at the Øens Have urban garden.
At the BaneGaarden, an outdoor dining area, a free homemade organic meal is on offer for those who take part in some litter-picking, with the rubbish bag required as proof to receive the perk.
The company GreenKayak will also allow tourists a free kayak ride if they collect any rubbish on the water as they glide across the Nyhavn.
Sparta, a wellness company that organises marathons, says it will hand out free coffees and pastries to tourists who take part in “plogging”, which it described as a blend of litter-picking and exercises.