the-tradition-of-plastic-the-road-to-successful-changeWe have known that climate protection concerns us all ever since the Fridays for Future demonstrations, in which mainly young people take to the streets worldwide and strike for better climate policy. They managed to put the issue of sustainability on the agenda of many people and companies. The awareness starts with the thought 'Where can I save packaging waste?' and ends with 'How do I separate my waste properly?' Waste separation and recycling in particular can make a difference: Every year, the production and incineration of plastic waste alone emits around 400 million tons of CO2 worldwide.
According to a 2015 study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Germany is the world's top recycler with a recycling rate of up to 65%, followed by South Korea, Slovenia, Austria and Belgium. Many other countries, on the other hand, have not yet reached this level. Ukraine, for example, produces almost 450 million tons of waste every year, of which only about 5% is recycled. The rest ends up in landfills covering 167 thousand hectares, which is more than the territory of the country's Nature Reserve Fund.

Fight against waste in Ukraine
Cooperation with Tarservice LLC
Waste separation that pays off twice
As part of the corporate strategy for responsible waste management, METRO Ukraine has introduced waste collection points in a total of 10 Ukrainian METRO stores since 2018. Another one was added in Odessa at the end of September 2020. What is special about this recycling centre is that every kilogram of secondary raw material has an equivalent value. So, every citizen of Odessa can not only care for the environment, but also receive a financial reward from Tarservice LLC for recycling their waste. For example, in exchange for 100 grams of plastic, users receive 1 Hrywnja (about €0.03). This may not sound like much since you can only buy two boxes of matches for this amount. But if you consider the amount of waste collected, it can still be seen as a little incentive for the individual user. This incentive scheme is so far unique.But no matter whether with or without financial 'rewards' for waste separation - the topic of environmental protection is becoming increasingly popular in Ukraine. 'Almost every quarter, the demand for facilities to dispose of waste in an environmentally friendly way is increasing. So, there is no doubt that METRO recycling stations are well received. Every month, about 120 cubic metres of secondary raw materials with a weight of about 12 tons are already collected,' reports Olena Vdovychenko, Sales Director at METRO Ukraine. The road to becoming a role model country in recycling is still a long one. But a step towards a more environmentally friendly Ukraine has already been taken.
