Representatives of Prelog and of the municipalities -- Gorican, Donji Kraljevec, Sveta Marija, Donji Vidovec, Donja Dubrava and Kotoriba --, who signed an agreement to this effect, obliged to seperate 70% of reusable waste and less than 30% of combined waste by 2020 reducing the latter from 98 kilograms per head to 50 kg annually.
The largest Green organisation "Green Action" helped local governments to prepare a sustainable system placing them on par to the best European practices in waste management.
The organisation's leader Bernard Ivcic underscored that this project had shown that significant results in waste management could be achieved in a relatively short time. "If this model used in Prelog were to be copied to at least one-third or a half of Croatia's cities and municipalities, Croatia would be faced with a significantly smaller problem with waste management," Ivcic said.
Environment and Nature Protection Minister Slaven Dobrovic thanked the organisation for contributing to the huge task awaiting the country and that is to change the waste management policy in the country. He recalled that that policy is based on a strategy dating back to 2005 and an adapted 2007 plan which unfortunately just meant collecting combined waste and dumping it at waste management centres where it is mechanically treated as biological waste.
That is an acceptable solution and a small step in waste management however, Dobrovic underscored, that it is not enough.
He underscored that the example of Prelog and Medjimurje County showed that ecology and economy could go hand in hand. During his visit to Prelog Minister Dobrovic visited a local compost plant, recycling yard and a low-energy consumption house.
Prelog Mayor Ljubomir Kolarek boasted that already now about 60% of useful waste is sorted in Prelog and households separate waste at the source.