Survey of the Use of the System for Separate Collection of Household Waste from Packaging in the Municipality of Stara Zagora

Abstract

Separate waste collection and recycling are at the basis of today’s waste
management. This helps the reduction of landfilled waste, which aims to reduce soil, water, and air
pollution, on the one hand, and to cut down on the depletion of resources for new production, on the
other. A large portion of household waste comes from the so-called “widespread wasteâ€, which
includes packaging waste. Legislation at European and national levels sets specific goals to
overcome this problem. Separate waste collection is carried out by municipalities via waste
recycling companies, which set up and operate systems for separate collection. Citizens are at the
heart of the efficient functioning of these systems. A separate waste collection system of this kind
has been established in the municipality of Stara Zagora in Bulgaria. The objective of this paper is
to present the results of a questionnaire survey of the system’s users to establish their awareness and
attitudes regarding the process of separate waste collection. The results can be used to improve the
system.