THE CLEANUP OF LAKE NOVO ČIČE MARKS THE START OF THIS YEAR’S EDITION OF THE FROM SOURCE TO SEA PROJECT

THE CLEANUP OF THE AREA AROUND LAKE NOVO ČIČE MARKED THE START OF THIS YEAR’S EDITION OF FROM SOURCE TO SEA (“OD IZVORA DO MORA”), AN ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECT IMPLEMENTED JOINTLY BY COCA-COLA AND JUTARNJI LIST IN AN EFFORT TO PROMOTE AND SUPPORT THE INITIATIVES TO REMOVE WASTE FROM THE SHORES OF CROATIAN RIVERS, LAKES AND THE SEA, AND ENCOURAGE PROPER WASTE DISPOSAL AND PROTECTION OF WATER RESOURCES.

Thanks to the organisational efforts of the Odra Sport Fishing Club from Velika Gorica, the Čiče Cultural Artistic Club from Novo Čiče, and the Novo Čiče Volunteer Fire Department, more than 100 volunteers gathered to clean up Lake Čiče, one of the largest surface water reservoirs in continental Croatia.

During the cleanup, the volunteers collected a significant amount of packaging and construction waste, and even a few discarded electrical home appliances.

The project has been endorsed by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, and Minister Tomislav Ćorić, PhD in Economics, personally attended the event. “We have seen once again that we must persist in our efforts to educate the citizens, and publicly call upon them to properly dispose of waste. Local self-government units have at their disposal the EU funds which they can use to cover the cost of such citizen education. It’s time they got more involved in that area. In the past 15 years, 7000 sites have been rehabilitated, and HRK 104 million has been spent on the efforts. We would rather spend these funds on something else, but unfortunately there are many other sites like this one which are polluted and must be rehabilitated for no other reason than human disregard and ignorance,” said the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development.

Krešimir Ačkar, Mayor of Velika Gorica, thanked the initiators and volunteers, and pointed out: “The lakes of Velika Gorica represent a great asset to our town. We envisage them as future recreation zones, and are therefore committed to preserving them. We plan to build pedestrian and bicycle trails leading towards the lakes.” The Mayor also stressed that the Town maintained successful collaboration with the Odra Sport Fishing Club, to which it had donated a field service vehicle this year to patrol the lakes and identify illegal dump sites. “I can also announce that in the upcoming days we will start installing the first hunting cameras which will be used to cover all problematic locations within the wider area of the town in an effort to curb illegal dumping of waste in the environment. We want clean lakes and clean environment!”

“As a socially responsible company, Coca-Cola launched a program called World Without Waste. We aim to help collect and recycle a bottle or can for every one we sell 2030. To achieve the World Without Waste goals, we, among other things, also use recycled plastic, and are proud to say that all Römerquelle bottles in Croatia are made from rPET. Packaging is an important part of our lives, but packaging waste in the environment has become a growing concern all around the world. It is precisely for this reason that we launched our From Source to Sea project in 2018. With this project, we and our partners aim to help raise the awareness of responsible waste management,” said Mark Docherty, General Manager of Coca-Cola Adria.

Goran Ogurlić, Editor-in-Chief of Jutarnji list, the partner and co-organiser of this year’s edition of the From Source to Sea project stressed that: “In September and October, Jutarnji list and Coca-Cola will organise a series of environmental campaigns across Croatia. In cooperation with local environmental associations, we will clean the areas alongside lakes, rivers, and the sea. Jutarnji list, as the project’s media partner, will publish a series of articles highlighting the importance of environmentally friendly waste disposal and thus, by doing what we do best, additionally contribute to raising citizens’ awareness of the importance of caring for the environment.”

From Source to Sea is a project implemented as part of Coca-Cola’s multi-year World Without Waste program under which the company has committed itself, among other things, to making 100 % of its primary packaging fully recyclable by 2025, and to using at least 50 % recycled material in its primary packaging by 2030. In the past 10 years, simply by using lighter bottles, Coca-Cola cut its total plastic consumption by a quarter.