This year’s edition of From Source to Sea (“Od izvora do mora”), an environmental project implemented by Coca-Cola, Konzum and Jutarnji list that promotes preservation of Croatian water resources and encourages proper disposal of packaging waste, continued with the cleanup of the Mrežnica River shore in Duga Resa.
Thanks to the organisational efforts of the Spider Scout Troop, more than eighty volunteers joined the initiative to clean up the shore of the Mrežnica River, the most distinctive symbol of Duga Resa. During the cleanup, the volunteers collected almost a ton of waste, which was properly disposed of after the cleanup.
The project has been endorsed by the Town of Duga Resa, and its representative, Tomislav Boljar, Mayor of Duga Resa, who attended the cleanup, said: “As a town on the Mrežnica River, which is an important part of our identity, we are glad that the From Source to Sea campaign has reached Duga Resa. Since many activities of the town administration are directed precisely to the preservation of the Mrežnica River, we want to thank Coca-Cola and Konzum for bringing the campaign here today to make our Mrežnica cleaner tomorrow!”
“Coca-Cola launched the From Source to Sea project in 2018 seeking to draw attention to the importance of responsible disposal of packaging waste and preservation of water resources, as well as to promote initiatives aimed at cleaning up the shores of Croatian water bodies – rivers, lakes, and the Adriatic Sea. With Jutarnji list and Konzum as partners on this year’s edition of the From Source to Sea project, we want to thank all the towns and associations that have endorsed our project, and especially our hosts – the Town of Duga Resa and the Spider Scout Troop,” said Vinko Kovačić, Director of the Communications, Public Relations and Sustainable Operations Department at Coca-Cola Adria.
This year, Konzum partnered with the project as well. Its representative, Vlado Pirša, Central Region Area Manager at Konzum, said: “I would like to thank all those who participated in the cleanup today – the Mrežnica River is one of the most famous symbols of Duga Resa – and I am glad that we have an opportunity to be a part of this project. Konzum is strongly committed to environmental protection, and we regularly carry out various activities and campaigns aimed at contributing to nature conservation. For example, we have recently launched a project called Recyclopedia (“Reciklopedija”), which is aimed at encouraging customers to reduce food waste, while our One Less (“Jedna manje”) campaign seeks to encourage citizens to use reusable eco-friendly bags as often as possible in order to reduce the amount of plastic waste.”
Lana Mindoljević, an editor at Jutarnji list, the media partner and co-organiser of this year’s edition of the From Source to Sea project, said: “From Osijek via Trogir to Duga Resa today, we have seen an amazing response by volunteers, nature lovers, who readily choose to spend their free time on a Sunday cleaning nature from waste. Jutarnji list proudly wears its title as partner to the From Source to Sea project, and we are especially proud of the fact that we stepped out of our editorial office, away from our computers and keyboards, and had the opportunity to witness the efforts aimed at making our environment cleaner first-hand, as well as personally contribute to such efforts. Last year, in partnership with Coca-Cola, we helped remove more than 16 tonnes of waste from nature, and this year, after partnering with Konzum, we are convinced that project results will be even more impressive.”
From Source to Sea is a project implemented as part of the World Without Waste initiative, a comprehensive, multi-year program under which The Coca-Cola Company has committed itself, among other things, to collecting and recycling a bottle or can for every one it sells, to using at least 50 % recycled material in primary packaging by 2030, and to making all primary packaging 100 % recyclable by 2025. In the past 10 years, simply by using lighter bottles, Coca-Cola cut its total plastic consumption by a quarter.
