Environmentalism in Burgas

The European Union has implemented recycling laws, and Germany has achieved impressive results. Bulgaria has also made progress, with Burgas implementing various recycling programs. The municipality has built an eco-park and mobile centers for recycling different types of waste. However, a research study found that some citizens were dissatisfied with waste collection and cleaning services. Schools have been involved in greening projects, aiming to encourage young people to recycle. Although Burgas generates a large amount of waste, a significant portion is recycled. However, there is a need for citizen discipline and motivation, as well as stricter laws to enforce recycling. -------- Good afternoon everybody, my name is Priscilla Vassiljanova and today we are going to discuss recycling in Burgas. Hope for a greener future! With the increase of environmental issues, the European Union has taken additional measures towards recycling. By implementing new laws, Western Europe has shown remarkable results. For instance, according to EEA, Germany has estimated an average of 65.5% from 2010 to 2015. Bulgaria takes a proud 16th place in the same statistic, however, we have shown significant improvement in the last decade. Let's review the changes that our hometown, Burgas, has made for a greener future. Burgas municipality has several programs for recyclable waste, such as mobile centers for recycling domestic waste, electric equipment recycling systems, oil recycling, all-source replacing programs, and more. So, the municipality has built an eco-park on the regional landfill territory. It is essential for environmentally friendly collection and storage of waste streams. Currently, there are 19 mobile centers in town, 6 of them are in "Meden Rudnik" (a residential complex), 2 of them are in "Bratia Milodinovi", 2 of them are in "Lazur", "Zornitsa", "Izgrev", "Slaveikov", in the center, and one of them in "Sarafovo". The centers accept various kinds of waste, paper, glass, metals, oil, plastic, electric equipment, expired medicine, old wheels, and even clothes. A research on ResearchGate.net conducted in 2014 by Konstantinos, Arabis, Trenova, and Malesios studies the opinion of paper recycling in Burgas. According to the data and the said research, 42.3% of the participants were disappointed with the frequency of waste collection. About the same percentages also said the same about provided cleaning services. We have already taken measures for the improvement of our environment. Since 2014, the municipality has introduced several new projects. However, we need to focus on motivating the citizens to recycle. Recently, several schools have taken part in greening projects. For example, last year, our school ELS "Geo Milev" took part in the "Green City" project. There, students expressed their opinions on several environmental issues. Young people are the future and that's why we need to encourage them to take steps towards recycling. In 2018, Burgas was among the districts with the greatest amounts of waste generated by the households. An annual of 433 kg per person against 409 kg per person on a national scale. At the same time, however, a large share of this waste was handed over for THREATment and recycling. Wait, THREATment? Well, that sounds threatening, huh! Sorry, treatment. 83% against, and 79% as the national average. The research went on one of ResearchGate's original profiles in BG. This more recent research proves that the projects have shown great results. It is only natural that Burgas, as the fourth largest city in Bulgaria, would generate enormous amounts of waste. Nevertheless, a significant share of this waste gets recycled. So, as we can see, the municipality of Burgas has already made its steps towards a better future. Now we, the citizens, must walk this path with them by spending a few minutes on sorting our waste. What we lack, sadly, is discipline and motivation. Therefore, programs that encourage recycling must have the public start practicing on a regular basis. And, of course, some laws. We have to be strict in order to have discipline. Thank you for your attention and let me know what you think. I would be happy to hear your opinion.