More than 1,500 decares of polluted land close to water bodies were cleaned by hundreds of Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria employees and partners during the 17th annual "My Green City" volunteer initiative. This event supports World Cleanup Day and is held in collaboration with bTV's "Let's Clean Bulgaria Together" campaign.
The largest group of volunteers rolled up their sleeves in the capital, cleaning polluted areas in North Park, covering over 500 decares. The other seven locations, which regained their natural beauty thanks to the efforts of the participants in the green initiative, are in or around the cities of Varna, Burgas, Plovdiv, Pleven, Veliko Tarnovo, Stara Zagora, and Blagoevgrad. The result – tons of separately collected textile, plastic, paper, glass, and metal waste, which the volunteers handed over for recycling in partnership with ECOPACK Bulgaria.
"For the 17th year in a row, our colleagues and partners have embraced the cause of caring for nature, and together we continue to contribute to the common goal of a “World Without Waste”, that we strive for. Water is one of the most valuable resources for our company in it. That’s why we are more than happy that today, the focus of our initiative is on areas around rivers and water bodies and that we continue to raise our consumers’ awareness regarding the benefits of separate waste collection and their recycling," said Sasa Markovic, General Manager of Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria, and added, "Many of the volunteers today participated in the cleanup with their children. As a parent, I believe that through our actions, we are raising the future green ambassadors who will care for the sustainable development of our planet."
The "My Green City" initiative in Sofia saw participation from employees of the company's partner organizations and volunteers from the "Social Future" foundation, which advocates for the inclusion of individuals with diverse abilities in Bulgaria's labor market. Consequently, the event's official opening included sign language interpretation.
"I am delighted that we have mutual causes with Coca-Cola HBC, contributing to a better world. Our participation in today’s initiative is a natural continuation of our successful long-standing partnership, and I am confident that we will continue to prove that personal example is the best way to change attitudes," said Yoana Koleva, co-founder of the "Social Future" foundation.
The My Green City initiative is held in support of Coca-Cola's global commitments to achieve by 2030 the equivalent of 100% collection and recycling of every bottle or can sold by the company, and by 2040 to become a carbon-neutral company.
As part of the previous editions of the campaign, the Coca-Cola team managed to green, clean and improve many areas, forests and parks in our country. In the spring of 2024 alone, volunteers in "My Green City" planted nearly 200 deciduous and coniferous trees in Sofia. In previous volunteer actions, they planted more than 7 decares of forests, collected tons of waste separately from dozens of polluted locations in Bulgaria, cleaned over 30 km of coastal areas, transformed 10 public transport stops in Sofia into containers for collecting plastic, and supported numerous social initiatives.
