1. Mapping the waste areas

• We made a mapping app with the use of which 800 waste points were marked on the map in the 3 pilot destinations and in the Făgăraș Mountains area.
• More than 200 volunteers were involved in this activity, challenging their sense of observation to show that rubbish still exists in ecotourism destinations.
• Volunteers involved in the activity received T-shirts with the message Natura fără plastic, e fantastic! (Nature without plastic is fantastic).

2. Interviews to identify the causes of plastic pollution

• We asked 85 locals and 12 mayors from the partner destinations about their opinion on waste management;
• We found out that most communities have separate waste collection systems and that garbage is collected often enough;
• Composting becomes a common practice in some households;
• Șaru Dornei is the village where the system pay as you throw was implemented;
• Talking to locals, more suggestions for solving the waste problem arose, such as:
  🗸 informing and educating local people
  🗸 increasing the number of garbage bins
  🗸 installing surveillance cameras
  🗸 fines imposed by authorities
  🗸 setting up collection centers for construction and hazardous waste
• Locals are aware of the harmful effects of plastic pollution on our health, as well as the well-being of nature, but they don’t have enough information to fully realize the gravity of the situation.

3. Local awareness-raising campaign

Local awareness campaigns have aimed to highlight best practices that each of us can do. Through online posts, we tried to provide practical information on how to recycle properly, and what other actions we can aim to reduce our impact on the environment, and we showcased examples of best practices from the community. Furthermore, we have tried to bring to attention statistics and scientific findings that prove the extremely high amounts of waste that remain uncollected, as well as the fact that microplastic has been found in people’s blood and lungs.
As part of the local campaigns, 63 social media posts and 39 stories were launched between July and August 2022, on the pages of the partner associations.We enlisted the support of three communication vectors in each destination, people from local communities who were open to talk to us about their experience with waste management through videos.

For each pilot destination, a film was produced, presenting best practice models of local authorities, sanitation companies, tourist guesthouses, locals, or school initiatives. On social media, we launched “lepașa”, which aimed to spark community civic spirit and inspire through action. Facebook users were encouraged to post suggestive images of how they manage waste correctly and nominate 3 other people to share their eco-heroism acts.

We published two articles in the local newspaper (Monitorul de Dorna), and we launched a spot on the local radio in the destination, with a message urging eco-heroism actions and talking about the campaign we were running.

We also interacted with local communities outside of social media, through presentations for high school students. Students took an eco-hero test and learned about the negative effects of littering, but also how they can do small things that have a significant impact on the environment. At the end, each student received a leaflet with additional information.

Local awareness campaigns:

• What do we do with the waste from Țara Dornelor?
• What do we do with the waste from Țara Hațegului – Retezat?
• What do we do with the waste from Zărnești – Piatra Craiului?

4. Clean-up campaign through local involvement

We went out for a clean-up activity in Zărnești – Piatra Craiului, Țara Hațegului – Retezat and Țara Dornelor; we were joined by more than 180 volunteers who dedicated their time to make the place where they live more welcoming and healthier.

5. Plans of measures to stop and prevent pollution with non-degradable waste

Based on all the activities carried out in the pilot destinations, we have gathered a series of information and best practice models which we have compiled into action plans that have been discussed with the mayors and handed over to them.

Carpathian garden with plastic waste

Karma wants a clean and #garbage free environment

6.National-level awareness-raising campaign

The national campaign started with an ethnographic research, which helped us to better understand who litters, what their motivation is and how we can bring about a change in this behaviour, so that we can create an appropriate content for the campaign itself. From the ethnographic research we found out that we all manifest at some point some form of “getting rid” of rubbish, which remains in our minds, because it is accompanied by the feeling of guilt and that it would be ideal to understand that rubbish belongs to us and that managing it correctly is a quality.

We presented the waste problem as seen through the eyes of entrepreneurs, media people and authorities, as well as best practice examples from our country, in short film called Grădina Carpaților cu Deșeuri din Plastic.

As part of the national campaign, we produced a video to draw attention to the abnormality of littering and the fact that wrongdoing does not go unpunished. The spotlight was on Karma, played by actor Alex Bogdan, who helped us to portray what can happen if you litter.  The video was promoted on social media and on the TV channels of Media Pro and Prima.

In order to make our message better heard, in addition to social media campaigns, we physically participated in all 4 events of the Banff Mountain Film Festival Romania (Iasi, Bucharest, Timisoara and Cluj-Napoca), where we presented the film and where participants were able to see the photo exhibition by Mihai Moiceanu, which presents the beautiful side of Romania vs. Romania filled with garbage.

Our drive to bring about a change in the way we deal with waste needed more support, which is why we launched a petition to the Romanian Government asking it to ensure compliance with Article 35 of the Romanian Constitution: the right to a healthy environment. Our petition was signed by over 3,000 people.

7. Conference

We were happy to meet and discuss with leading representatives of the tourism industry, environmental organisations, academics, entrepreneurs, old and new friends, about environmental issues and the impact they have on the tourism brand and product. The conference Carpathian Garden: from country branding to the need for sustainability of destinations was recorded and can be found, in full, on Youtube.

During the conference, representatives of national and regional tourism associations signed an letter to the Romanian Government, calling for measures such as:

• ZERO tolerance for those who litter in nature, on the road, by the roadside, on the outskirts of towns and villages,

• concrete and sustained action at the level of each municipality to sort and collect waste separately,

• an integrated waste management system accessible to all communities in Romania,
• launching a targeted communication and education campaign among both young people and adults to prevent and reduce the amount of waste produced and discarded.

Also, during the conference, a commitment was signed to support a national approach to identify and promote sustainability measures in tourism, as well as to agree on sustainability assessment schemes, with a deadline of 2024.

8. Advocacy

The letter signed by representatives of tourism associations present at the conference, was sent to the Romanian Government. As a result, we received an invitation to dialogue from one of the Prime Minister’s advisers. A physical meeting will be scheduled in the near future.

9. Information and communication

Since the beginning of the project, we have been posting articles talking about both waste and AER`s activity and what else is happening in ecotourism destinations. The full list of articles can be found in the News section. We communicated about our activity in the Romanian media, sending a press release to each partner destination and 3 press releases at national level, talking about our campaigns and calling for citizens’ involvement.

We met with local stakeholders (mayors, representatives of sanitation companies, representatives of environmental and tourism organisations, tourism business owners) with whom we discussed the environmental problems caused by waste. We bought inscribed clothing that we wear to promote our activity and Discover Eco-Romania brand; The association’s websites are constantly updated. Take a look! (asociatiaaer.ro, eco-romania.ro) We made project presentation roll-ups that we use when we have related activities.

 10. Organizational development 

• Office equipment that improves the project teamwork was purchased;
• Items of clothing were bought, personalized with the association’s logo, and shared with the association members;