Porcijunkulovo 2026 Introduces Waste Separation for the First Time
Despite occasional mixing of waste by visitors, the introduction of selective bins in Čakovec has been hailed as an important step toward a cleaner city.
Despite occasional mixing of waste by visitors, the introduction of selective bins in Čakovec has been hailed as an important step toward a cleaner city.
This year's edition of Porcijunkulovo, the largest event in Međimurje, brought an ecological novelty. The municipal company GKP Čakom set up selective waste collection bins at the event site for the first time, resulting in nearly two tons less mixed municipal waste collected than last year.
For the five-day event, a total of 75 bins of 120 liters for mixed municipal waste, 20 bins of the same capacity for paper and cardboard, and 22 bins of 240 liters for plastic packaging were set up.
Ultimately, 7,720 kilograms of mixed municipal waste, 900 kilograms of paper and cardboard, and 780 kilograms of plastic packaging were collected. For comparison, during Porcijunkulovo 2025, when there were no selective bins, 9.4 tons of mixed waste were collected. This year, sorting reduced the amount of that waste by more than two tons.
Although the initiative was praised, the director of GKP Čakom, Lidija Miše Jalšovec, pointed out that some visitors did not fully respect the purpose of the bins. "Although this year we enabled selective waste disposal for the first time by setting up special bins for paper and plastic, some visitors did not fully use the bins according to their purpose. As a result, a certain amount of mixed municipal waste ended up in the recycling bins," Miše Jalšovec stated for eMeđimurje.
She added that Čakom's workers, thanks to extra effort during collection, subsequently separated part of the recyclable materials and sent them for appropriate processing.
Thirty employees of GKP Čakom were engaged daily from 5 a.m. in street cleaning, waste collection, and transport, using six vehicles and a street sweeper. An additional seven employees were in charge of parking control and payment.
Director Miše Jalšovec considers the introduction of selective waste collection during the event an important step forward. "We believe that citizens and visitors will, already next year, recognize to an even greater extent the importance of proper waste separation and, through their responsible behavior, contribute to keeping the city clean and protecting the environment," she said.
Thanks to favorable weather conditions, there were no emergency situations caused by storms during this year's event, so there was no need for additional resource deployment.
