In anticipation of September 15 – World Cleanup Day, Pivara Skopje, Pakomak and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, conducted an action aimed at raising the awareness of the need to replace non-degradable plastic bags with alternative solutions that do not pollute the environment.

Within this action, which was carried out in cooperation with the retail chains Vero and Tinex, consumers were given canvas shopping bags as one of the environmentally acceptable substitutes for the non-degradable plastic bags.

“I am happy that again, together with our partners, colleagues and friends, whose number is constantly increasing, we are launching a new action for sending a symbolic but strong message that all of us, as individuals, can contribute to a cleaner environment with our behavior. As a company, Pivara Skopje is strongly committed to the protection and improvement of the environment, which is of great importance to us. We are continuously implementing specific measures, surpassing the ecological tragedies set by the state institutions and investing significant funds, which, among other things, provides efficiency of the system for collection and recycling of packaging waste. On this occasion too, I want to appeal to other companies and the whole society to take their share of the responsibility and to engage more in solving the problem of pollution of the environment, thus creating conditions for a sustainable future for us and for future generations,” said Vladimir Kosijer, General Manager of Pivara Skopje.

The latest action is part of the broader long-term platform of Pivara Skopje and Pakomak, which is under the motto “Are you Recycling!?” and includes various activities, starting from educating young people and the general public about the need for proper treatment, selection and recycling of waste, as well as volunteer eco-actions for cleaning public spaces. So far, within this platform, three volunteer actions were organized for cleaning the shores and waters of Lake Matka, as well as on the quay of the Vardar, which included employees of Pivara Skopje, as well as many volunteers from the partner organizations. One of them is the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which actively participated in all previous activities. In fact, the latest action within the “Are you Recycling!?” platform is a continuation of the #IHaveABag project of the Dutch Embassy.

“The non-degradable plastic bags are a huge global environmental problem for the nature, especially for wildlife in rivers, seas and oceans. Personally, I will be very happy if, with today’s symbolic action, we encourage people to change something in their everyday habits, and instead of creating the problem, we choose to be part of the solution together,” said the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Wouter Plomp.

The action was also welcomed by the Consumer Organization of Macedonia (OPM), which appealed to all citizens to contribute to environment protection, decrease the use of plastic bags that are not biodegradable and cannot be recycled and while shopping to use canvas bags that can be handy at all times.

“We all know that plastic bags are widely used in modern lifestyles and feel that as consumers we use them excessively, thus being responsible for pollution. Namely, up to 1 million plastic bags are being used every minute globally, while only one of 200 is recycled. The rest often ends up in nature where it threatens the whole flora and fauna, and therefore our health. We cannot afford to do that anymore, we have to say NO to plastic bags that are not bio-degradable,” said the Chairmwoman of OPM Marijana Loncar Velkova.

Filip Ivanovski, Director of Pakomak – the first specialized organization in the country whose core activity is packaging waste management – also thinks that the problem can be solved only if everyone takes his or her part of the responsibility.

“We cannot entirely and immediatiately give up on the use of plastic as packaging material but we can surely decrease the use of non-degradable plastic bags, using longer lasting materials for bags for multiple use. Namely, the most dangerous pollution for the living organisms in the seas and oceans are exactly plastic bags that are not degradable,” explains Ivanovski.

Protection and continuous improvement of the environment are an integral part of the strategy for sustainable development of Pivara Skopje. Following the global leadership of Coca-Cola HBC Group in this area, as well as the sustainability practices of HEINEKEN, Pivara Skopje continuously invests and implements specific activities aimed at proper management of packaging waste as well as reducing energy consumption and water saving. As one of the founders of Pakomak, Pivara Skopje continuously invests in the efficiency of the system for collection and recycling of the entire packaging waste in the country.