The year 2023 was full of events, achievements and challenges, – Parki Ar Minda announced on social media this week. “We passed an important milestone for us by collecting more than 100 tons of waste for recycling- 107.8 to be exact, not counting e-waste and small elements like corks, etc.”
In this amount were: 30 tons of plastic (with PET making up about 85%), 19.4 tons of paper and cardboard, 1.8 tons of aluminum, and 3.1 tons of tin.
“Each of these numbers represent resources saved and given to recycling facilities to develop a circular economy,” the organization notes. “For example, recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 trees, 24.5 cubic meters in the landfill and two barrels of oil- enough to drive almost 2000 km.”
Their Eco-taxi client base continued to grow throughout the year, within the first nine months collecting 10 tons of waste. Georgia generates 900,000 tons of waste annually, and only 5% is recycled. Wanting to increase this number, Parki Ar Minda began offering a door-pick up service that allows businesses and individuals to have their recyclable waste taken away. The service charges per stop, not per person, so as to encourage people to collaborate with their neighbors.
“We were happy to see more businesses joining responsible waste management practices and collaborating with us not only in waste collection but also in educational activities,” the organization says.
In total, Parki Ar Minda picked up waste via Eco-taxi 2332 times. The number of rides and amount of waste collected through their services in 2023 grew 1.5 times compared to the previous year.
“Thanks to the support of Garage IT Company, in April 2023 we opened our third Garage, widening the geography of drop-off possibilities to the Chughureti neighborhood,” they said.
17,128 people visited their Garages overall during 2023, some repeatedly, some just once or twice, a number four times higher than in 2022!
“We think it is totally amazing and definitely a reason to continue our work,” the Parki Ar Minda team stated. “All these visits were possible thanks to the support and dedication of our volunteer team that grew to 70 people already! Together, they did 1031 shifts totaling 1650.5 working hours!”
In recognition of the organization’s efforts and the importance of the project Eco-taxi (including Garages), Parki Ar Minda received a prestigious international Energy Globe Award in sustainability. They were also nominated for the CSR Award organized by the Global Compact Network in Georgia, and were recognized by the Plant Based Treaty Georgia team.
“Yet, with all these great numbers and achievements, 2023 was tough on the recycling industry, and we all felt the struggles. For example, a local cardboard recycler with whom we started working early in the year closed their factory after just a few months because they couldn’t compete with cheap imported paper products. In general, the prices for secondary materials have been decreasing around the world, has which resulted in the reduction of income from waste sales.
“While residents of Tbilisi are more and more concerned with the situation with waste and are eager to recycle their waste, the economic situation in the recycling sector restricts the development not only of our project but the infrastructure in general,” the Parki Ar Minda team notes. “However, we believe that these are temporary downfalls which will soon pass. We continue to work to offer the possibility to recycle the widest range of waste types and our goal is to make it even more comfortable for you!”
By Katie Ruth Davies
