On 7 July 2021 the representatives of the cooperative retail chain COOP Jednota and the PRO NATUR-PACK presented at the press conference launching of the new educational project “Jointly – ecologically” which will help the consumers to separate the waste properly. An educational TV campaign as a project component will be released since 15 July in the prime time.
Highlights from the press conference:
The company COOP Jednota launched and educational campaign focused on the environmental protection. Graphical symbols were placed to the products of the brand by which the correct procedures of waste separation will be explained to the consumers. A separate web-page was created as a component of the project “Jointly – ecologically” where more detailed explanation of separation of the used packaging is available. The expert information is enriched by the knowledge game and instruction videos. Company NATUR-PACK acts as an expert project partner.
„Purchase of groceries is necessarily connected with consumption of huge amount of packaging that becomes a waste. Thank to the principles of circular economy we are able to recycle and reuse it. We are fully aware of the environmental protection issues in the COOP Jednota, therefore we supplemented the packaging of the products of our brand by graphical symbols explaining understandably how to separate the used packaging,” explains Ján Bilinský, director general of COOP Jednota Slovakia. „The responsibility for protection of our nature lays on the shoulders of the consumers, but also the producers. As a manufacturer of our own brand we feel the opportunity to contribute to the improvement, and as a first step we adopt the idea behind. We wish to educate our consumers by the project “Jointly – ecologically” and to offer them on a regular basis the up-to-date information on the environmental issues. We are fully aware that the circular economy agenda is far more complicated and that the proper waste separation represents only a small segment. The material flow closing, so called closed loop, is realistic only after thorough understanding of the entire chain from the manufacture to the final waste treatment. Our engagement in this issue will steadily increase,” Ján Bilinský added.
The largest Slovak grocery retail chain has in its portfolio more than 760 products of its own brand, of which up to 85% come from the Slovak suppliers. It started to label its products by graphical symbols illustrating the collection containers - the icons are actually shown on one third of the products, and the process gradually continues. The containers are shown in the colors of collection vessels and with the descriptions as beverage packaging, plastic, metal, paper, glass, municipal, biological… Each icon comprises description how to separate the individual components of the waste packaging. If the packaging is composed of more components belonging to different containers, each container is clearly defined.
The web-page “Jointly – ecologically” is focused in its introductory phase to the proper separation of used packaging. It describes to the consumer which packaging belongs to the given collection container, and it emphasizes which waste components do not belong to that container at all. The portal will be broadened by instruction videos with the useful eco-tips and an interactive game.
The web-page will offer also an added value – regular information on up-to-date development in the environmental protection issues. Thus, the web content is not dedicated solely to the COOP Jednota customers, but to a broad public as well.
The environmental protection issues belong to the priority topics within the EU and it is closely related also to the reuse of raw materials, i.e. with the procedures of waste recovery and recycling and the preceding step – waste separation. “Separation of the used packaging is very important, giving the waste the second chance and sparing the natural resources, in parallel – being not fully aware of it – sparing our own money,” explains Michal Sebíň, director of the company NATUR-PACK , and he continues: “Moreover, waste separation spares energy, decreases the amount of waste on landfills, protects the environment and contributes to the climate protection. The responsible approach of the producers to these issues is extremely important. I am pleased that just the largest Slovak retail store identified with this approach and it started to perform the necessary steps.”
NATUR-PACK points out that separation of beverage and metal packaging is not uniform in Slovakia. In some municipalities the beverage packaging is collected separately into the orange containers, metals to the red ones, however, very often both these commodities are collected jointly in the red containers, or in different combinations with plastic waste in the yellow containers. It is necessary to verify the separation system of this waste by comparison with the stickers on the collection containers, or on the web-page of the respective self-government.
The COOP Jednota activities towards the improved environmental protection definitely do not end by the project “Jointly – ecologically.” As a manufacturer selling private label products, but at the same time as one of the largest grocery retailers in Slovakia the company will further support the circular economy. “It is not only one of the key political issues within the European Union, but first and foremost the necessary direction in the protection of our planet. The circular economy principles require the cooperation of all stakeholders, therefore I turn also to our consumers and encourage them to be responsible in handling of the used packaging. Each and every recovered piece of packaging is counted, but do not forget that the best waste is the one which had never been generated,” concluded the director general of COOP Jednota Ján Bilinský.
7 July 2021
