Today, the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund organised a special event for citizens in Cvjetni trg Square in Zagreb to observe the International Day Without Plastic Bags. Passers-by could replace their plastic bags with canvas bags and also have a go at an interactive eco-quiz to find out if they are an ecological drama or eco masters.
The initiative was also endorsed by the minister of environmental protection and green transition, Marija Vučković, who pointed out that single-use plastics, including plastic bags, had a significant impact on the environment and nature, which is why its difficult decomposition should be constantly underlined. "The problem of plastics in the marine environment is particularly prominent, so we need to accelerate all our efforts aimed at preventing plastic waste from being discarded. In this process, one of the most important steps is education, and that’s why actions such as today's are particularly important, to raise awareness of the necessity of reducing the use of disposable plastics," said Vučković.
"With the campaign 'Returning to Nature!' The Environmental Protection Fund wants to remind how important small changes in everyday habits are. Every Croatian citizen uses about 97 lightweight plastic bags per year. We often use them for less than half an hour, after which they continue polluting nature for decades. With the aim of reducing the number of bags in circulation, a ban on light plastic bags has already been imposed, and from 1 January this year, a charge on very light bags was introduced. With today's event, we want to point out once again that plastic bags need to be used sparingly, which is why we have provided citizens with cloth bags as an alternative, which will last for years and carry a message of responsibility and care for the environment," said the director of the Fund, Luka Balen.
In addition to citizens, the campaign was supported by well-known faces from the Croatian lifestyle scene, who agreed it was important to use their influence for socially important topics. Niko Čuturić, Petra Kurtela and Matea Frajsberger showed their followers how much they know about ecology and invited them to reconsider their habits themselves.
About 2,000 plastic bags were collected at the event. Instead of ending up in the environment, the bags were disposed of in appropriate containers, and their owners received original canvas bags in return, which will remind them every day that every change begins with the first step, for example - carrying their bag when going to the shops.
