Kumanovo began a pilot project for selection of plastic waste and cans
In the Zelen Rid neighborhood 200 free bins were distributed; the aim is to reduce PET waste and improve recycling.
A pilot project for primary separation of plastic waste and aluminum cans has started in Kumanovo. Around 200 households in the Zelen Rid neighborhood have been given free bins where they will sort the waste, after which a collective operator will collect it from homes every two weeks.
Goal and participants
The goal is for household waste to be separated at the point of generation in order to improve subsequent collection and recycling, to reduce the amounts ending up in landfills, and to introduce the principles of the circular economy into the everyday habits of citizens.
The project is being implemented by the Department for Environmental Protection of the Municipality of Kumanovo, in cooperation with the Public Enterprise "Cleanliness and Greenery", the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, the Center for Climate Change and the company "Uno Produkt" – Kumanovo.
"Today we are on Mirche Acev Street where we will donate 200 plastic bins for the selection of bottles of water and juice, colored and uncolored plastic, and aluminum cans from juice, beer and food, and plastic bags. This is a pilot project, we are starting from here, and we will cover the other streets in the neighborhood and other parts of the city where free bins will be distributed, with the aim of cleaning the city of PET packaging. We hope that environmental awareness among citizens will be awakened and the project will be successful," said Sasho Tomic, director of the Public Enterprise "Cleanliness and Greenery".
"I want to call on citizens to use the bins that will be distributed exclusively for the selection of plastic and cans, so as to avoid mixing with municipal waste, for the purpose of establishing a waste management system," said Aleksandra Protic, head of the Department for Environmental Protection in the Municipality of Kumanovo.
The Center for Climate Change clarified that the circular economy is one of the pillars of the Green Agenda and that primary separation is necessary to achieve it. The selection bins were donated by the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning.
The Municipality of Kumanovo is included in a larger project, "Regional Partnership for Better Implementation of the Green Agenda of the Western Balkans at the Local Level", supported by the Government of Switzerland through the Civica Mobilitas program. From the Public Enterprise "Cleanliness and Greenery" say they will also receive two waste collection trucks, one water tanker and two sweepers as part of the new municipal machinery, provided through a donation promoted in Skopje by the World Bank; the equipment is expected to increase hygiene in the city, which is currently facing an aging vehicle fleet and financial difficulties.
S. NIKOLIC
Photo: SDK.MK)
