Art, Plastics & Recycling - Jun 2012 - Dec 2013

Due to Shkodra/Skadar Lake’s significant natural heritage on the one side and the fact that plastic waste has become a very problematic issue on both sides of the board in the Skadar/Shkodra Lake area, the Centre for Sustainable Tourism Initiatives from Podgorica in cooperation with Marin Barleti University from Tirana and partners Culture Zone on the Montenegrin side and Deliart Association on the Albanian side, is launching into the implementation of the project titled ‘Art, Plastics & Recycling’. This project is funded by the European Union contributing 84,52% of the total cost and will be managed by the Delegations of the European Union in Montenegro and Albania. The project is selected for financing under the 2nd Call for proposals within the IPA Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Albania-Montenegro (for more information please refer to www.nature.al). 

This action is aimed at promoting a trans-boundary Skadar/Shkodra Lake Art, Plastics & Recycling Program for the environmental protection and establishing functional environmental-art network of artists and other organisations in the target area. In this way, the action contributes to reducing negative effects on environmental, encouraging environmentally-friendly economic activities and raising awareness of the population about the importance, protection and promotion of the environment and natural heritage. 

Art from plastics Skadar Lake Art from plastics Main donor to the action

The pilot program ‘Art, Plastics & Recycling’ is already internationally established idea of using art and design objects in recycling the plastic rubbish. This program will enable artisans to profit from the social relevance of the material, and businesses from the innovative forcefulness of the artistic images. As a result of this 18-month pilot  program, plastic will be taken seriously in the establishment on beauty and aesthetics by up to 15 artisans of the project area, who will be stimulated and educated to show, from their personal perspective on the phenomenon of recycling, own semantic which builds an important bridge to people who collect and sort packaging as rubbish every day.

The project will have an impact on the prevention of the environmental damage, clean up of the area and the usage of plastic waste for artistic and economic purposes. The involvement of artists and local communities as target groups on both sides of the Lake Shkoder/Skadar, will bring a value added of this project in terms of raising awareness about those techniques, and in creating a new culture and mentality among the entire population as beneficiaries, about their role and direct involvement in such creative, innovative and environmental friendly activities. Additionally, the promotion of the innovative environmentally-friendly activities will increase tourist flows that will both directly impact the target groups and final beneficiaries by increasing economic activity. In such a way the project will get all stakeholders, included in this action, motivated not only to achieve the results, but also to continue with the foreseen work in the future.

Art, Plastics & Recycling - Jun 2012 - Dec 2013