The catering facilities of the Debrecen Zoo and Amusement Park have been banned from using disposable plastics. This includes straws, mixing sticks, cups, plates, cutlery and plastic bags.
Disposable plastic items were banned in the Debrecen Zoo and Amusement Park as MTI reported on Wednesday, on World Environment Day.
Gergely Sándor Nagy, CEO, reminded us that the European Union will ban the use of disposable plastic products in 2021 and therefore must be replaced with alternative products.
The European Union ban is more than “needed”. Our daily waste output is 3.5 million tons, largely made up of plastic. Annually 8 billion plastic bags are used in the countries of the European Union. An even worse statistic is that around 700 kilograms of plastic waste end up in our oceans every second, greatly endangering wildlife on our planet and, by eventually entering the food chain, directly affecting our health.
If we fail to take action, there will be more plastic waste in the oceans than fish by 2050.
A total of almost 4 million people visits the Hungarian zoos each year. Zoos are one of the most popular public institutions. Modern zoos must be committed to contributing to conservation efforts by adopting and promoting eco-friendly and sustainable practices.
The Debrecen Zoo and Amusement Park are located in a nature conservation area, known as the Great Forest, it is committed to protecting natural values and applying eco-friendly and sustainable solutions”, the CEO stressed.
He hopes that other zoos will follow the example.
The catering facilities operated by external entrepreneurs are ready for the change, however, the Debrecen Zoo and Amusement Park have developed selective waste collection islands to collect disposable plastics that visitors might still bring in.
