We continue the tradition of collecting, utilizing, and recycling textiles. Today, our volunteers from Georgia and Italy, within the framework of their projects over several months, collected and placed several hundred kilograms of textiles into the containers of M-tex Recycling of Textiles Ltd., with which the Municipality of Kazanlak has a contract. The collection, transportation, and subsequent utilization are carried out at the expense of the company, without any cost to the municipality or taxpayers. Thus, along with all our efforts to collect bottle caps and PVC bottles, we continue with the Art Missions and Future Plus projects. This activity of the volunteers will also lead to a reduction in the amount of waste deposited on the territory of the municipality.

The initiative ‘Without Money’ has been implemented in Kazanlak for several consecutive years. It started with the idea of some of the then volunteers of the Youth Development Center – Mutual Aid Association and United Avant-Garde Artists Association under the European Solidarity Corps program. In those years, we handed over more than 6 tons of textiles for reuse and recycling through Tech Cycle.

The initiative began in 2019 with an appeal by the chairman of the Mutual Aid Association, Maria Slavova, who appealed to the citizens of the city: ‘Enough being consumers and constantly buying new things; let’s give life to those that can be used. You have unnecessary items that are needed and usable – bring them because someone else needs them, and take what you need.’ Her main idea was to exchange clothes, appliances, household items, toys, and anything that is no longer needed by their owners but could be useful to someone else. People brought everything that was good for use and might be needed by someone else. They took whatever they desired.