In Czech Republic sorting waste is rock

by Silvia Musso

Czech Republic distinguishes itself for the originality and variety of its environmental communication campaigns. As Šárka Nováková claims, spoke person of EKO KOM, Czech company, which provides associated compliance of take-back and recovery of packaging waste, «the main aim of our communication is to reach as many people as possible troughout the activation of many and different channels».

Alongside more traditional communication tools, spot videos of 2 minutes launched every evening after the News at 7.30 pm., exhibitions of art objects realized with waste, educational projects with schools, information posters showed in the Tesco supermarkets, there are many others addressed especially to a wider young public. The most original is doubtlessly the "Čisté festivaly" ("Clean festivals") project aimed to support the sorting waste during these big events thanks to the collaboration with the principals National music festivals.

Music characterizes the identity of the Country and in particular way of Prague, so what best medium to give ecological messages?

Currently EKO KOM have activated collaborations with 20 different festivals, where waste collection systems are organized, recyclable packagings or biodegradable cups are used, competitions on the topic of sorting waste are held, as the creation of the longest snake made of plastic waste. Who most sorts waste (bringing cans or plastic bottles in special tents dedicated to this purpose) can win a free drink, some gadgets or can even get the ticket money back, as happened in one of the most important National festivals, the Rock for People.

«In the past, we were the first festival in the Czech Republic to introduce a system of returnable beer cups, which was adopted by almost all other summer festivals as well. Last year, we started a program for separating paper, plastic and aluminum, and we've gotten great positive feedback from the visitors. I hope that we'll also be able to cooperate with them this year in order to reduce the impact our festival has on the living environment», comments Štěpán Suchochleb, Rock for People's ecological program coordinator.

Another musical collaboration was also activated with a famous Czech band, Mig 21. In their last DVD, in whose cover it is written “Třídění je sexi…a navíc to má smysl” that means “Sorting waste is sexy and it makes sense”, you could find a brochure explaining how to rightly sort waste and containing the invitation to participate to a competition, which first prize was to sing together with the band's leader, Jiří Macháček, an inedited song on the issue of waste collection during their concert of December, 9th 2009. The prize was won by a guy who, without shame, went to the stage, sang and had a lot of fun, becoming for some minutes the symbol of a virtuous and responsible environmental behaviour.

All these activities can be followed on Facebook pages of the company and of the Čisté festivaly where more than 6,400 subscribers can watch and upload videos and photographies and post their comments.

As these social network's pages show «the use of this music channel – stresses Šárka – even though the not always easy collaboration with the artists, was a very good choice to reach the youngest population, a difficult public, that is for nature rebellious, moving, very critical and skeptical towards society».

EKO KOM will surely continue along this successful way and we will continue to follow their activities with curiosity and fun.