In Srebrenik, on January 21 and 22, 2023, M2.2 and M2.3 meetings of the project team were held as part of the implementation of the PICK ONE LEAVE NONE project. The meeting was hosted by PK “Majevica” from Srebrenik, and the other project partners HPD “Gorščica” from Zagreb, KPS “Azot” from Veles, RRA “Zlatibor” from Užice, NP “Tara” from Bajina Bašta and PK “Tara” from Bajina Bašta.

During the meetings, the participants discussed very important topics related to field analyzes of the current situation on the selected trails in all four countries participating in the project. These analyzes represent the basis for further steps in the implementation of the project, but they represent the starting point for comparing the results and effects that the project will achieve in the following period. After two days of active work at the meetings, the hosts from PK “Majevica” took all the participants on a walk to the Old Town and the mountain lodge on Majevica.

At the first meeting, the focus was on the analysis of the results of the experiment – the counting of waste on mountain and hiking trails, which was done in several different time cycles in the period June – November 2022. Before presenting the overall analysis, the partners’ representatives presented the locations and the challenges they faced on the ground. After the presentation of the mountaineering societies on the situation on the ground, the representative of RRA Zlatibor Miloš Radojević presented the analysis of the results of the first measurement on the ground for each country individually, as well as for all countries together, in order to obtain a practical basis for the selection of the tool kit that will be used for simple and safe waste collection on hiking and walking trails. All representatives of mountaineering societies agreed with the presented analysis and in the joint discussion came to the following conclusions:

  • There are different sources of pollution on hiking trails in 4 different countries;

  • Mountaineers, that is, outdoor athletes, represent the smallest source of pollution on mountain trails, which is universal for all 4 countries;

  • According to absolute figures, the most dominant type of waste is cigarette butts and that special attention must be paid to this fact when creating the toolkit;

  • It was noticed that there is spontaneous waste removal on all the paths;

  • It was also noticed that weather conditions or seasons affect the counting results, so this must be taken into account when doing comparative analyses;

  • Based on the analysis, 5 different target groups were identified that dominantly produce waste on mountain trails: local population, tourists, employees who perform economic activities in the area where the trails are located, hunters, outdoor athletes;

  • No mini-dumps were observed on the trails.

The second meeting was dedicated to applying the results of the analysis to establish simple and safe principles of waste collection on mountain and hiking trails. Bearing in mind the results and conclusions of the analysis of the waste counting experiment from the previous meeting, the principles to be guided in waste collection were presented. These principles are the basis for a joint discussion in defining three variants of the toolkit, one of which will be adopted and applied in the field after their testing.

As all participants at the meeting have extensive practical experience in mountaineering or waste management, and relying on the results of the analysis on the structure and amounts of waste, three sets were quickly arrived at that can be practically applied in the field:

  • Set 1: Nothing needed or just a classic plastic bag (mountaineers simply collect waste and put it in their backpacks or plastic bags that they usually always have with them)

  • Set 2: A textile bag and a metal box with a lid (a bag for all types of solid waste, in which case it would be made of recycled material – reuse, while the box would be used for cigarettes, which, based on the analysis, are found in significant numbers on the track)

  • Set 3: Disinfectant, a textile bag and a metal box (the same set as the previous one, with the exception that hikers would be able to disinfect their hands after collecting waste).

One of the important recommendations at the meeting is that the bags should be made of recycled, already used material in order to extend its life cycle and thus avoid the creation of additional waste.

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