The tree planting event at the Sopot city park marked the ceremonial conclusion of this year’s planting efforts in Vinkovci, which, for the second consecutive year, has been named one of the three winning cities of the From Source to Sea project. This project aims to raise awareness about the responsible disposal of packaging waste and the importance of environmental protection. As part of this year’s project, 80 trees of various species were planted in Vinkovci, including predominantly columnar hornbeam, sweetgum, red maple, and globe locust
From Source to Sea project, organized by Coca-Cola, Konzum, the Association of Cities, and Jutarnji list, received the support of the Mayor of Vinkovci Ivan Bosančić who said: “I am extremely proud that, for the second year in a row, we have demonstrated how much we care about our city and its clean and healthy future. What delights me especially in this whole story is the sense of community among our citizens, both young and old. Year after year they join us in greater numbers to participate in environmental initiatives, they care for nature, clean the environment, learn about proper waste separation, and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere and camaraderie. I want to thank the organizers—participating in this significant and commendable ecological project will result in the planting of 80 new trees in the Sopot city park. I must emphasize that this is a fantastic addition to our broader greening plan for Vinkovci. Thanks to other projects and programs we are implementing, more than 2,000 young trees of various species will soon grow in the oldest city in Europe.”
Marin Dolenec, Regional Sales Manager for Eastern Croatia at Coca-Cola HBC Croatia, stated: "The importance of responsible waste management and the challenge of packaging waste in the environment were the main drivers behind the creation of the From Source to Sea project. In addition to removing packaging waste from nature, we have over time expanded the project to include tree planting in urban areas to help reduce CO2 and lower air temperatures in cities. Congratulations to all the winning cities, especially Vinkovci, which has won in its category for two consecutive years and has planted over 170 trees in total."
Miodrag Streitenberger, Director of the Region East at Konzum, pointed out: "As a socially responsible company, we are very pleased to be a partner in this noteworthy project. We also implement numerous initiatives to contribute to environmental preservation and improve the quality of life for our citizens. For years, we have been Croatia's largest food donor, and through the Reciklopedija platform, we encourage our customers to adopt environmentally responsible behaviour. I congratulate the city of Vinkovci for their commitment to the project and all the volunteers who contributed to collecting plastic packaging. Thanks to our joint efforts, the city park is now clean and will soon be reforested."
This year's edition of the From Source to Sea project began with a competition that ran from 15 February to 15 March, in which all interested cities could participate. After 30 one-day packaging waste cleanup campaigns, in which 2,200 volunteers collected over 420 tons of packaging waste, the winning cities of this year's edition of the From Source to Sea project were announced. In the category of cities with a population of less than 10,000 Benkovac took first place, while Vinkovci scored the most points among medium-sized cities, and Velika Gorica won in the category of cities with a population of more than 35,000. One of this year's project goals was to support urban reforestation. Accordingly, the winning cities equally shared a prize of 45,000 euros, which they used to plant trees in locations they chose themselves.
Coca-Cola launched the From Source to Sea project in Croatia in 2018 in cooperation with government institutions and civil society organizations. Three years ago, Jutarnji list joined as a project partner, followed by Konzum in 2022, and the Association of Towns last year. The project has also been endorsed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition and the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology of the University of Zagreb.
From Source to Sea is a project implemented as part of the World Without Waste initiative, a comprehensive, multi-year program within which Coca-Cola has committed, among other things, to collect and recycle a bottle or a can for each bottle or can sold, and to use at least 50 % recycled material in primary packaging by 2030. The company has also committed to making all primary packaging 100 % recyclable by 2025, which has already been achieved in Croatia. In the past 10 years, simply by using lighter bottles, the total plastic consumption has been reduced by a quarter. Last year Coca-Cola made yet another step forward to achieving its vision of a World Without Waste by presenting attached plastic bottle caps to Croatian consumers.
