ZAGREB, November 7, 2018 - Activists of the Green Action non-governmental organisation staged a protest performance outside the city administration in Zagreb on Wednesday to draw attention to "an alarming situation" with rubbish piling up in the streets of the capital.
The organisation blamed the situation on Mayor Milan Bandić and the Čistoća municipal sanitation utility, and demanded a controlled system of waste separation, reorganisation of refuse collection and a fair charge for municipal services.
The collection of plastic waste has been suspended after the expiry of the agreement between the municipal multi-utility conglomerate Zagrebački Holding and the CIOS company, as a result of which containers have been left overflowing with rubbish. An annex to the agreement was signed on Monday, and Mario Košak of Green Action said it was regrettable that the utility resumed its work only after pressure from the media and the public.
Green Action activists protesting outside the city administration were covered in plastic waste, wore gas masks and carried banners saying "This is the result of your (in)action" and "Zagreb, European capital of rubbish". They urged the city authorities to change the decision on municipal waste collection and the waste management plan.
Košak said that by allowing plastic waste to pile up, the City of Zagreb generated a loss for the benefit of the CIOS company. He warned that the USKOK anti-corruption body has charged Bandić over the favourable treatment of CIOS, "which is persistently engaged in the waste management business in Zagreb."
The problem of rubbish on the streets of the Croatian capital has been in the media focus lately.
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