photo: MINA
In the premises of Europe House, the NGO Zero Waste and its partners presented the results of the cleaning actions organised throughout Montenegro as part of the EU Beach Clean Up Day. There were 445 volunteers and 19 organisations that played the role of coordinators at the local level who participated in the action. 18 riverbanks, lakes, and seas in 12 Montenegrin municipalities were cleaned and 12 tons of waste were collected.
As stated, a waste audit was carried out at each location, and data was obtained regarding the dominant waste and the biggest polluters. As was seen in the previous five years of the EU Beach Clean Up Day, single-use packaging is the dominant polluter, and more than half are plastic bottles.
“Accordingly, it is necessary to speed up the process of passing the new Law on Waste Management, which contains a directive on the prohibition of single-use plastics, as well as extended producer responsibility and a deposit return scheme,” Zero Waste declared.
As they stated, regarding the implementation of the law, it is necessary to respect the waste hierarchy adopted by the European Union and to prioritise waste reduction. This further implies campaigns to spread awareness, but also the establishment of a system in which returnable glass packaging is more convenient than recycling, both for companies and consumers.
Recycling is the last link in the chain, but it is equally important, said the gathered activists. They state that it is necessary to speed up the implementation process of the deposit return scheme, the engagement of experienced experts who will carefully study the market, and adapt the system to the possibilities.
The deposit refund scheme, if implemented properly, can increase the rate of separately collected packaging to 90%, said Zero Waste.