OVER 300 TONS OF WASTE COLLECTED BY OVER 18,000 VOLUNTEERS DURING THE GENERALKA WEEKEND 2024 – THE LARGEST ECO-ACTION IN THE COUNTRY

Together with the main strategic partners Pivara Skopje and Pakomak, Man & Mountain for the fourth time this year organized the GENERALKA WEEKEND, the largest environmental action in Macedonia and the Western Balkans, collecting a record 300 tons of waste.

“Our partners from the private sector, supporters in municipalities and institutions, schools, kindergartens, non-governmental organizations, sports and retirement clubs, local and urban communities, national parks, specialists, and many other organizations with joint forces and an unparalleled act of national solidarity and friendship over all ethnic and political borders contributed to the GENERALKA WEEKEND! Over 18,099 volunteers collected 301,504 kg of waste at more than 400 locations during the GENERALKA WEEKEND between 15-19 May 2024!” said Gordana Sofija and Hannes Yaeckl from Man & Mountain.

Dushan Mitrev, General Manager of Pivara Skopje, said that the large number of volunteers and the achieved results give hope that together we can create a culture of sustainable living:

“Our determination to be the leading strategic partner of the most massive national environmental initiative, GENERALKA WEEKEND, stems from the need to protect the environment and be a driver of positive change in the community where we work. For us, it is important to translate corporate responsibility into action, and the exceptional results of this year’s action show that we are on the right track. I want to express my gratitude to the Pivarci team and to all the volunteers and partners who joined the action,” said the General manager of Pivara Skopje, Dushan Mitrev.

“Every year, GENERALKA WEEKEND contributes to raising public awareness of the need for waste selection and recycling. This is the most massive and effective environmental action in the country, and I believe it will become even more massive, but I also hope that we will collect less and less improperly disposed waste,” said Filip Ivanovski, General Manager of Pakomak.

Based on the memorandum between the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy, National Forests, and Man & Mountain, the Government of our country will dedicate 1 tree for every 10 kilograms of waste collected during GENERALKA WEEKEND as part of their annual reforestation plans until 2031. To date, more than 100,000 trees have been planted thanks to the commitment of the people of Macedonia.

The realization of GENERALKA WEEKEND is also due to the support of the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Interior, which have been contributing to this action since 2021.

As in recent years, Sparkasse Bank and Nula Otpad are official partners of the action, and this year they were joined by Makstil, Buchim Borov Dol, EVN, Bimilk, and Kostal. And again, as always, the Red Cross took care of the safety of all participants of GENERALKA WEEKEND 24.