20,000 trees saved from felling “Leaf by Leaf”

20,000 trees are saved from being cut down by the citizens of Varna through the separate paper collection campaign “Sheet by Sheet”. The cherished goal of the number of trees not destroyed for paper production will be fulfilled in just a few months. For its 22 years of existence and active work, over 500 companies, schools, kindergartens, institutions and citizens in Varna have collected and handed over for recycling through “Sheet by Sheet” 972 tons of paper waste. Believing in the maxim that 1 ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees from being cut down, they have so far prevented the felling of nearly 19,500 of the lungs of the planet.

The figures were presented by the coordinator of the initiative Ilian Iliev during a round table “Sustainable consumption in an urban environment – regional solutions”. The event was held at the University of Economics – Varna, and it was attended by representatives of the scientific community and the civil sector from all over the country.

“When we talk about sustainable consumption, the focus is on reducing consumption, generating less waste and, accordingly, increasing secondary raw materials, saving energy, local resources, low-resource mobility and politically active citizens.” This was stated by Ilian Iliev during the forum by presenting part of the information, demonstration, education and advocacy campaigns of the Public Center for Environment and Sustainable Development over time. Among them are the mission “I choose the reusable cup”, “No thanks, I bring my own”, “Green Fridays”, “Eco rating”, “Let’s go bass”, “Let’s eat a nuclear power plant” and others.

During the round table, Diana Nasteva from the association “There are no impossible things” presented an application for motivating more ecological behavior in everyday life. Good practices in sustainable food consumption and reduction of food waste from “farm to table” were discussed, as well as a study by the Department of Natural Resource Economics at UNSS in this area.

Efficient water consumption and consumer awareness of their water footprint was the subject of discussion, together with Milena Angelova from the Industrial Capital Association of Bulgaria.