19.03.2021.
Today the Fund organised the action of removal of around 60 old and defective vehicles, which were discarded on the island of Korčula, as part of the project for collecting end-of-life vehicles on islands, and in national and nature parks.A number of these end-of-life vehicles, some of which were more than 30 years old, were handed over by their holders to the licensed collector, who removed them from their yards as part of the action.
Derelict cars discarded in the ravines and inaccessible areas were removed using the appropriate equipment by the members of the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service, with whom the Fund has been cooperating for years.
“As of 2007, the Fund has been organising the disposal of end-of-life vehicles. After the holders of such vehicles hand them over to the licensed collector, the Fund will pay them a fee of 1 kn per one kilogram of the handed over vehicle. So, there’s really no need to discard car wrecks outdoors or let them deteriorate for years in the yards, because it can all be resolved with a single phone call to the authorised collector, who will properly dispose of the vehicle in a sound and environmentally friendly manner,” said Vinko Vukušić, in charge of the end-of-life vehicles management system at the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund.
Despite all this, some of these cars still end up littering the environment because of there are inconsiderate individuals. “Sadly, there were occasions when we had to pull out car wrecks from the sea and lakes, and in cooperation with spelunking organisations we had to pull derelict cars from the caves. One time the members of the Ministry of Defence helped us haul car wrecks from deep gorges with helicopters,” explained Vukušić, underlining how such thoughtless actions were very harmful to the environment.
That is the reason why the Fund designed an additional scheme for disposing of derelict cars found in national parks, nature parks, 4 and on the islands, explained the head of the Environmental Protection Sector Aleksandra Čilić. Since holders of these vehicles are mainly unknown, these cars are not in the end-of-life vehicles management system. But all the same they present a risk for the environment and have to properly treated. Mrs Čilić said that through this scheme of the Fund more than 200 derelict cars will be removed until summer from islands: Cres, Drvenik Veliki, Hvar, Korčula, Premuda, Rab, Vis and Lastovo, and from nature parks Velebit, Žumberak, and Vransko jezero.
“The Fund will continue improving and upgrading the end-of-life vehicles management system, and through different eco-activities we will encourage the public to dispose of their cars in a proper and environmentally friendly manner,” said Mrs Čilić.
List of licensed collectors of enf-of-life vehicles
