The campaign “Come with a bag, get a booklet!” Will be held in Varna on July 3 – the International Day without plastic bags. Anyone who chooses to shop this Friday between 11am and 12pm at the Blue Market with a reusable bag will receive a book voucher of their choice. The voucher is in the form of a book divider and its purpose is to remind how important it is to limit the use of plastic in our daily lives.
Everyone shopping with plastic bags will also not be missed. They will be given cards with animals covered with plastic waste. They will be urged not to use disposable bags.
The gift books are second-hand fiction or new specialized literature and can be picked up on July 3 or 10 (Friday) from the office of the Public Environmental Center for Sustainable Development (14 Sava Radulov Str., Varna).
Last year, on this day, again on the Blue Market, the PECSD conducted the campaign #НеМерсиНосяСи. Volunteers handed out reusable bags and urged people to refuse the plastic bags offered to them by the merchants. This year we decided to award those who said # НеМерсиНосяСи, says the chairman of the association Ilian Iliev.
Every Bulgarian uses 246 plastic bags a year (third place in Europe). On average, we use one bag for 12 minutes before disposing of it. Most plastic bags are made from a material that cannot be recycled or is economically unprofitable to make. Plastic bags do not decompose, but break up for up to 400 years into tiny particles (micro plastic) that contaminate soils and water and enter the food chain of animals and humans. Mankind’s plastic consumer “diet” is impossible for wildlife to swallow. And when nature gets sick, people get sick too.
“Come with a bag, get a booklet!” is organized by the Public Environmental Center for Sustainable Development on the initiative of Apostol Penkov from Varna. The citizens’ initiative is implemented under the project “Improving public awareness of the role of civil society for the community” with the financial support of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism. The main goal of the project is to improve citizens’ awareness of the role of non-governmental organizations in society.
Translator: Valentina Vagge
Improving public knowledge about the role of Civil Society Organizations
The project “Improving public knowledge about the role of Civil Society Organizations” shall be implemented with the financial support of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism. The main goal of the project is to improve citizens’ awareness of the role of non-governmental organizations in society. This material is established with the financial support of the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria under the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area. The whole responsibility for the content of the document is held by the Public Environmental Center for Sustainable Development and under no circumstances can this material be considered to reflect the official opinion of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria.