CONTAINER MANAGMENT
RECYCLING SUCCESS IN BULGARIA
The container management pilot project launched in 2013 by the Bulgarian Crop Protection Association together with partners has now grown to include four new regions:- Varna, Razgrad, Silistra and Ruse.
This past spring more than 64 tones of plastic crop protection containers were collected from 200 individual contracts with farmers.
“In Bulgaria we have started last year with the collection of empty containers from big farmers from Dobrich region and we have realized that the use of the classic collection points was not adapted for such farms.”, said Nelly Yordanova, Director General of BgCPA, the Bulgarian Crop Protection Association. “Instead we adopted a door to door collection and we realized that once the farmers saw us they wanted to participate!”
So far the collection rate is at 18% and the aim is for the project to grow and the plan is to include another nine regions by the end of 2015. “The second challenge is to develop an efficient collection mode for smallholders of the pilot area as they now get to know about our initiative and are eager to participate too”.
This scheme is part of a wider European effort by the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) for the establishment of container management schemes across Europe.