INTERVIEW WITH THE DIRECTOR OF GREEN AND BLUE ON THE CITY DAY
In the last six years, the company Zeleno i modro in the area of Kaštela has distributed almost 24 bins for waste, paper and plastic and about 4000 composters to home addresses, and they have installed semi-underground containers at nine locations, and they also have two recycling yards under their jurisdiction. And annually, around a thousand containers for bulky waste are delivered to users' homes. All this led to a waste separation rate of almost 30 percent. They have also launched a pilot project for the distribution of bins for organic waste, and soon a large project for the construction of a composting plant will begin, which should increase the rate of waste separation to the desired 50 percent.
All these activities of the Zeleno i modro company have led to the removal of garbage from our streets, which makes our city more pleasant and beautiful. Therefore, we spoke with Alen Lučić, director of the city's municipal utility company Zeleno i modro, on the occasion of City Day, which is celebrated on March 4, to see the development of our city, the direction it is taking, but also the goals that we want to achieve in order to make living in the city at the foot of Kozjak as pleasant as possible, both for its residents and for all those who come to enjoy the Kaštela coast and the beautiful sea.
In addition to waste management, they are also responsible for public parking. They have also established patrols, or regular inspections of local roads, to improve the safety of all road users in the city. They also have a winter service, they are responsible for street sweepers, and this year they launched a building management project.
They have a total of 105 employees, who are assigned to various jobs, the number of which increases during the season. Although they are among the few that have a larger number of women on the board, the company is run by 46-year-old economist Alen Lučić.
Alen Lučić, director of the utility company Zeleno i modro
On February 1, 2019, Zeleno i modro launched a project to distribute bins to home addresses for the purpose of waste separation. Looking back six years, are you satisfied with the results achieved? What is the waste separation rate today?
We are very satisfied with the results. The waste separation rate in Kaštela has been continuously increasing for years. In 2020, we had a 10 percent waste separation rate, in 2021 it was 17 percent, in 2022 it was 21 percent, and in 2023 it was 24 percent. The current separation rate is approximately 30 percent, or more precisely 29,10 percent, which shows that our fellow citizens are becoming more responsible in separating waste. However, there is always room for improvement, and that is why we are continuously working on improving the waste management system. It should be noted that when all the waste is added up, meaning all the waste that citizens brought to the recycling yard, including all fractions of construction waste, the rate of separately collected waste is 32 percent.
See what Kaštela looked like before 2019.
You said that there is continuous work on improving the waste management system? What does that mean?
So far, we have distributed 13800 green bins, or bins for mixed municipal waste, 10 bins for paper and plastic, not counting the blue and yellow bags used for the same purpose. We have installed semi-underground containers at nine locations. We have two recycling yards, one in Rudine, the other in Sućurac, where our fellow citizens can bring up to a ton of construction waste for free, and around a thousand containers for bulky waste are delivered to users' homes. We have distributed 3900 composters that are used for composting organic waste or biowaste, which is kitchen waste, food preparation leftovers, and garden or green waste. The distribution of brown bins for biowaste is underway, and all this leads to the collection of the same, which will be disposed of in a future composting plant.
By distributing brown bins, you have started a pilot project for collecting bio-waste. How will it be implemented and what is its purpose?
At the end of last year, we started distributing brown bins for biowaste in Radun and Rudine as part of a pilot project for biowaste collection. Once the bins are distributed, which we anticipate will be implemented this spring, we will start collecting biowaste. Our goal is to test the system, educate citizens, and see how everything will work in practice. After analyzing the results, we plan to expand this service to the entire Kaštela area, and we expect this to happen in 2025. By properly separating biowaste, we reduce the amount of mixed waste and contribute to environmental protection. We predict that with the separation of biowaste, the amount of separately collected waste will increase to over 40 percent and get closer to the set goal of 50 percent.
More recycling, less landfilling and less food waste is the task and obligation of every Croatian city in order to increase the rate of separation of collected waste at the EU level. Among the cities that are striving to reach the 50 percent separation rate is Kaštela. In order to achieve the set goal, you have serious plans, you have announced the construction of a composting plant.
In the waste management chain, Kaštela could catch up with this figure by building a composting plant, which would also enable lower costs for providing public services. The composting plant is currently at the conceptual design level, and we expect the main project to be completed in early spring 2025, after which we will start obtaining permits and then the public procurement procedure for the contractor. After the public procurement procedure and selection of the contractor are completed, construction will begin in the second half of 2025. We expect construction to be completed in 2026. It will have an annual processing capacity of 10.000 tons of bio-waste, and this capacity will ensure the processing of all bio-waste from the Kaštela area, with the possibility of generating additional income from the processing of bio-waste from other local government units.
Lower costs of providing public services will certainly be to the satisfaction of your users, but you already have services that are completely free, such as the disposal of bulky waste in recycling yards, as well as containers that you deliver to home addresses. Can we say that citizens are increasingly aware of the issue of bulky waste disposal?
The people of Kaštela have at their disposal recycling yards in Sućurac and Rudine. Recycling yards provide free disposal of various types of waste, including bulky waste, electronic waste, batteries, paint, oil, and more. Using recycling yards reduces improper disposal of waste in nature and on public areas. Recently, citizens have been able to bring up to a ton of construction waste to the recycling yard annually instead of the previous 200 kilograms. Of course, the construction waste that is taken away should be free of any admixtures of other waste and users should dispose of it in containers prepared for this purpose without other ingredients, and they should also empty it out of plastic bags. Plastic bags in which construction waste is transported are disposed of in another container intended for that type of waste, namely plastic. All in all, we see increasing awareness among citizens and more and more waste is collected at recycling yards, and more and more of our citizens are using the services of recycling yards. We continuously encourage the use of recycling yards, and additional training is planned to encourage them to use these services even more. As for containers for bulky waste, we distribute about a thousand of them annually.
In addition to waste management and other activities that are under your responsibility, such as public parking, patrolling local roads and traffic light maintenance, and winter services. You also have sweepers under your responsibility, and this year you also launched a building management project.
Yes, this is one of our latest projects. By introducing a building management service, we want to provide citizens with better quality care for their residential buildings. As long-standing providers of utility services in Kaštela, we know the specific needs of our city and understand the importance of preserving common areas and creating safe and orderly living conditions for all our fellow citizens. There are quite a few buildings in Kaštela that do not have a manager at all. And our building management services have numerous advantages, such as transparent and efficient maintenance, financial management and all activities related to building maintenance. Better quality maintenance service for common parts of the building, from regular repairs to emergency interventions. Expert advice when making important decisions related to energy renovation, legal and financial aspects and long-term projects. Easier coordination between tenants, managers and contractors and the possibility of faster resolution of technical and administrative issues. In the coming period, our representatives will organize information meetings where we will present our offer in detail and answer all questions from co-owners.
You are a company with 105 employees, and during the season and more when your employees start maintaining the beaches. Back in December 2023, all employee rights were defined in a collective agreement, when negotiations with the unions were successfully completed.
The collective agreement defines all the rights of workers, starting from the increase in the basic gross salary to allowances for special and difficult working conditions, for a special working schedule, and the like. It also defines allowances for special and difficult working conditions, allowances for length of service, allowances for a special working schedule, night work, overtime work, work on Sundays and holidays, standby, afternoon shift work, double work, non-taxable benefits, and numerous other material and non-material rights. The greatest value of our company is our employees. In order to retain quality employees, we decided that the largest salary increase would be for the employees who are most important for the Company's business, namely those who work on waste disposal. The City of Kaštela already has very high standards of waste collection services as well as a high separation rate. The city is regularly cleaned, and waste is regularly collected.
You are very satisfied with the company's results, and on several occasions you have also emphasized the environmental awareness of citizens. What do you think is the key to such success?
Cooperation with citizens is key to the success of any project. Citizens have recognized our hard work and shown a high level of cooperation. We are seeing an increasing environmental awareness among our citizens, which is reflected in the high number of visits to recycling yards, the decreasing number of illegal landfills, and the continuous increase in the rate of waste separation. Thanks to their responsibility and willingness to participate in sustainable waste management, we at Zeleno i modro are recording positive results. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who separates waste, uses recycling yards, and abides by the rules. Their support motivates us to continue developing the system for the benefit of the entire community.
At the same time, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all our users, as well as all citizens of the city of Kaštela, on City Day.
Photo: Photo: ZiM archive/Ivana Topić
