Business

First Croatian Re-Use Centre Opened

By 11 May 2017

Discarded objects in Prelog will find new purpose instead of ending up at the dump

Prelog and the broader area complete an integral system chain successfully developed in the last years upon the recommendations of the Green Action association. The opening of the re-use centre is an important link in building an ecologically acceptable waste management system in Prelog and the area, which also includes the distribution of containers for waste separation at home and the construction of a composting station, sorting station and recycling centre, Green Action stated, as reported by H-alter.org on May 10, 2017.

The re-use centre in Prelog is composed of two sections: a display and sales area on 200 square metres and a storage and workshop area of the same size. Bulky waste such as furniture, clothes and shoes, dishware, books, toys, children’s and sporting equipment that was previously dumped will be restored, repaired or renovated to be re-used again. The centre is useful in the need for a larger number of employees, the employment of people who have a tougher time finding a job and the life extension of goods through re-use, reducing the pressure on the environment.

With the opening of the re-use centre the municipal company Pre-kom from Prelog also celebrated 15 years of its successful business, with districts Belica and Dekanovec joining the Zero Waste 2020 strategy through which they plan to separate and process 70% of waste separately by 2020. In February of last year, the Zero Waste conference was held in Prelog where the Town of Prelog and 6 districts with 25.000 total residents adopted the European Zero Waste 2020 strategy. This placed them on the map of the best practices in Europe and committed them to undertake many measures to reach high goals by 2020 in the reduction, separation and recycling of waste. The Pre-kom company’s advancement of service was aided by Green Action with the creation of a study with results verification and recommendations for the advancement of the system upon the principles of the best ecological-economic-social practices, which Pre-kom is turning into a reality.

All the above resulted in Pre-kom managing over 3.3 million kilograms of useful waste in 2016, with a positive business balance, new jobs and reduced fees for citizens. Households reduced waste from 98.8 kg to 89.95 kg per resident annually, with 56.27% of waste collected separately. This is the highest rate in Croatia and far above the Croatian average of 17%, but also above the European average of 44%. These results confirmed Pre-kom as the national leader in ecological waste management. The re-use centre will increase the amount of separated useful waste, helping Prelog and the surrounding area to strengthen its position among Europe’s best practices.

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