On December 8th, the Project for Household Waste Separation "O-DVA-JA-MO" was promoted in the municipality of Bogatić, which received 1,849 blue bins within this project, in which households will separate paper, plastic and metal. In addition, 9 blue containers for the same purpose and 33 yellow glass containers were donated, as well as a truck for the removal of separated dry waste.
The project aims to establish a system for waste separation at the point of origin in 17 municipalities across Serbia in the regions of Srem-Mačva, Pancevo, Duboko and Pirot by investing not only in equipment but also in informing citizens about the advantages of separating household waste for its later successful recycling in order to reduce the amounts that end up in landfills and increase the recycling rate in 4 regions to 15% in the next two years.
This project is being implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia with the support of the European Union and the Kingdom of Sweden.
The "O-dva-ja-mo" project was presented in the sports hall in Bogatić, in the presence of the representative of the European Union delegation, Mr Antoine Avignon, Assistant Minister for Environmental Protection Mr Dušan Čarkić, Mayor Mr Milan Damnjanović, Director of PUC "Bogatić" Mr Vladan Popadić and guests .
As Antoine Avignon pointed out, it is the first phase of the project in which the European Union is investing 6.6 million euros and the beginning of the investment in that area that they want to further improve.
"We are very pleased to be in Bogatić, because it is a municipality that is very dedicated to this project. "O-dva-ja-mo" intends to divert the waste, which would otherwise be disposed of at the landfill, to recycling. It is even more than recycling, because the citizens themselves take on the responsibility of improving the environment. This is just one of the projects that aim to influence the awareness of waste separation at home," underlined the Programme Manager for The Environment and Climate Change at the European Union.
The Assistant Minister for Environmental Protection said that this is a way to improve life in the local community.
"The Ministry of Environmental Protection always stands behind all local self-governments and citizens of the Republic of Serbia. This is just one of the steps we have taken to improve the lives of all of us. Our doors are always open and we are open for further cooperation, whatever the citizens think the ministry can do for them, we are at their disposal. I congratulate the Municipality of Bogatić for the exceptional communication and cooperation," Čarkić emphasized.
The Mayor Milan Damnjanović stated that the project shows social responsibility, commitment, enthusiasm and achieved results in the field of environmental protection. The participation of the municipality in the investment provided through the IPA 2017 programme worth close to 200 thousand euros is about 25 thousand euros.
"These are indicators of the developed consciousness of all of us, as well as the direction and set goal that we, as a society and state, are moving towards, and that goal is the creation of a better life for all citizens. This cooperation is an example of good practice, a positive way of working and thinking and represents a kind of promotion of activities and fundamental values that bring obvious benefits. In the Municipality of Bogatić, you will always have a reliable colleague and friend. I hope that in the future we will have the opportunity to create positive change to everyone's satisfaction," Damnjanović concluded.
Eco-ambassadors of the Project informed the present fellow citizens about the advantages of waste separation and recycling itself for the environment and the local community. Children from the "Slava Ković" Preschool in Bogatić also participated in the programme.
