THE 3rd EDITION OF THE FROM SOURCE TO SEA PROJECT ENDS WITH A PLOGGING EVENT IN MAKSIMIR

The cleanup of the area alongside the lake in the Maksimir Park marked the end 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 support the initiatives to remove waste from the shores or Croatian rivers, lakes and the sea, and encourage proper waste disposal and protection of water resources.

The event was hosted by the Public Institution Maksimir and the Dinamo – Zrinjevac Athletic Club, and it was organised in the form of plogging, an activity that combines running and collecting waste.

This year, the 11 cleanup events organised as part of the From Source to Sea project gathered volunteers who signed up for participation through the Odra Sport Fishing Club, the Čiče Cultural Artistic Club, the Novo Čiče Volunteer Fire Department, Agro Educa, the Prvić Šepurine Environmental Association, the Posejdon Sea Scout Club, and the Scout Association of Croatia. During the cleanups, which were organised all across Croatia – from Novo Čiče, Zagreb and Split to the island of Prvić – the volunteers collected around 15 tonnes of waste.

The project has been endorsed by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, and Minister Tomislav Ćorić, PhD in Economics, personally attended the cleanups. “I would like to thank Coca-Cola and Hanza Media for recognising the importance of corporate social responsibility, and for organising the From Source to Sea project, an excellent campaign which the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development will continue to support as long as necessary,” said the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development.

The project has been endorsed by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, and Minister Tomislav Ćorić, PhD in Economics, personally attended the cleanup.

“The Public Institution Maksimir promotes nature protection in the City of Zagreb, and the Maksimir Park is one of the protected natural sites the Institution cares for. A natural environment in an urban area brings numerous benefits to all its visitors and inhabitants. We therefore invite all visitors to Maksimir to support our efforts to reduce the amount of waste in the city of Zagreb, and particularly of the waste disposed in the environment, and thus show their appreciation of the nature that surrounds us. With the Maksimir without waste! initiative, we want to call upon the visitors not to bring waste with them to Maksimir, as well as not to produce it during their visit, or leave it after their visit ends,” stressed Nika Dolenc, PhD in Economics, Acting Director of Public Institution Maksimir.

“As a responsible and active member of the community in which we work and develop new concepts, while promoting positive and sustainable social values, we are proud to be part of a project that has rounded up all its partners and participants in an effort to organise environmental protection actions involving participation of the public and the local community. Today we end this successful series of environmental activities by combining care for environmental health and our personal health, care for the environment and active living, and running, waste cleaning and spending time outdoors,” said Ana Hanžeković Krznarić, Member of the Hanza Media Management Board and President of the Dinamo – Zrinjevac Athletic Club.

“Aware of the problem of packaging waste, we launched the From Source to Sea project in 2018 to draw attention to the importance of responsible waste management. The outcomes of this year’s edition of the project are impressive: 11 events and 15 tonnes of waste, excellent stakeholder response, and – the most important one – contribution to the preservation of the water resources of Croatia, Our Beautiful,” said Bruno Jelić, Director of the Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Department at Coca-Cola HBC Adria.

Goran Ogurlić, Editor-in-Chief of Jutarnji list, the partner and co-organiser of this year’s edition of the project stressed that: “Jutarnji list has always passionately covered all socially relevant topics, and ecology has recently become one of the most important topics of that kind. On this occasion, we stepped away from our keyboards, words, and papers, and joined the on-site efforts to make the so-much needed change. As a newspaper that promotes responsibility, knowledge and environmental awareness, we will continue to work relentlessly – by publishing high-quality articles, stories and features – on making our environment and the extraordinary nature of Croatia even more beautiful, cleaner and free from improperly disposed of waste.”

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 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.