She is one of the participants who change their place of residence and job, but continue to be part of “Leaf by Leaf.” Krassi Petrusheva stands at the entrance of the store in the Western Industrial Zone and patiently waits for the yellow “Kango” to park so she can collect the collected paper. She is one of those people who will always greet you with a smile, offer you a treat, and take a photo with Ilian Iliev, the campaign coordinator. This is so that they can share and inspire others to join the cause.

“By recycling, we provide resources to the people who make paper. This means that there will not be as much deforestation. But first and foremost, there will not be as much pollution.” This is Krasi’s motivation for joining “Leaf by Leaf.” She has been participating in the initiative for nearly 10 years, as part of the companies she works for—first for Euro Market, and now for Carnes. She regularly donates small glass bottles and books to Green Fridays.

She discovered Leaf by Leaf by chance. A colleague from her previous workplace mentioned the campaign. She recalls with regret how much paper they generated at that time. “We called, Ilian came and took away what we had collected. We have continued over the years. And now he has to come every 3-4 months, which means we are still accumulating paper. To some extent, this is pollution,” the woman shakes her head and the smile disappears from her face.

Krasi separates waste in her personal life as well. “This is part of our daily routine,” she says. “Everything is separated and sent for recycling.” She does it because, “I like it to be a little more frequent.”

People like Krassi Petrusheva are not just citizens who separate their waste. They are compassionate, empathetic, and make life a little more humane. Although she may seem strange to those around her, she always finds a way to set aside a few leva for cancer patients or to support an initiative to purchase wheelchairs…

“If we make sure that it’s clean outside, I think everything will be cleaner. Let’s just clean up both outside and inside. Because it’s a matter of mindset,” is the message the young woman sends.

On the tree opposite the “Karnes” store in the industrial zone of Varna, there is a large bird feeder made from a plastic bottle. And suddenly a hungry bird appears and lands. Then another one flies in and… flies away fed. And here’s another one…