Ćulafić: The goal is to motivate citizens not to leave plastic in nature, but to dispose of it in designated places

The Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development (MERS) organized, on the occasion of June 5 - World Environment Day, an action to exchange packaging waste for seedlings.

MERS said that the goal of the "Ten Plastic Bottles or Cans for One Seedling" campaign is to encourage citizens to manage waste more responsibly and raise awareness about the importance of nature protection.

Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development Damjan Ćulafić thanked the media and citizens for their interest in participating in this action, emphasizing that it is being implemented on the occasion of the celebration of Environmental Protection Day.

He emphasized that the campaign has value because it encourages citizens, especially children and young people, to hand over plastic bottles, cans and other plastic packaging to representatives of the Ministry, and in return receive seedlings.

"The seedlings will be a replacement for this type of waste in nature. I can tell you that based on the number of plastic bottles and cans collected so far, it can be said that the response has been great and that we have distributed more than 400 seedlings," said Ćulafić.

He pointed out that the goal is to motivate citizens not to leave plastic in nature, but to dispose of it in designated places.

"That way, the waste will have its proper path and end up where it needs to be treated appropriately, as it will this time at the city landfill in Podgorica," he said.

Ćulafić also warned about the long-term negative impact of plastic on the environment.

"Plastic has a very harmful effect on nature, especially considering that the decomposition period of some plastic products is from 70 to 120, and even up to 200 years. There are also plastic products that are almost non-degradable in nature. This is what worries not only us, but the entire world," Ćulafić pointed out.

He recalled that Montenegro has already taken concrete steps to reduce the use of plastic, through a ban on plastic bags with a thickness of 15 to 50 microns.

"A fee has been introduced for bags thicker than 50 microns, which previously amounted to three cents per piece, and today it is five cents. This money is being transferred to the Eco-Fund account. We will analyze the effects of these measures and I can tell you that we are moving towards completely banning plastic bags from use in Montenegro," said Ćulafić.

He stated that today's activity fits into the Ministry's broader efforts aimed at improving the state of the environment in Montenegro, among which the most significant is the "Protect and Let It Protect You" campaign, implemented in cooperation with the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro.

Ćulafić pointed out that the action naturally follows on from the "Green Renewal of Montenegro" campaign, which the Ministry launched in Piperi and Kuči.

"The goal of our special campaign is precisely the planting and restoration of burned and destroyed areas. I believe that today's action, which primarily relates to the exchange of plastic for new value in nature, certainly has its own, I would say symbolic, but real component," said Ćulafić.

According to him, such activities contribute to raising the level of awareness among citizens, but also to more efficient implementation of state obligations in the field of environmental protection.