MAN trucks in the property of Unija Nova company collect goods unsuitable for consumption or sale, waste from food preparation and waste packaging throughout Croatia and transport them to recovery and recycling centres.
The natural world that surrounds us provides everything that humans need, from food and nutritional nutrients, water, the air we breathe, building materials to beautiful scenery. In other words, there is no human life on this planet without nature, and a clean environment is of vital importance for our healthy life and the health of future generations, but modern life inevitably leads to the creation of waste. Therefore, in addition to taking care of environmental protection, and due to the increasing amount of waste, it is necessary to think about its conversion into useful substances and energy production, which has been actively carried out by Unija Nova for over 60 years.
From 1961, the company has carried out its activities of the disposal of industrially produced packaging glass as a working organization of the company SOUR Unija, and in the 80s of the last century it set up the first containers for collecting glass on public areas for citizens. Since 1994, the company continues to operate independently, while at the beginning of 2000s it built a new and larger facility adapted for the processing of several types of packaging waste and expanded its operations to the disposal of the remaining types of non-hazardous waste. At the moment the company has about 150 dedicated and responsible employees, has modern equipped logistics collection centres near Zagreb, Osijek, Poreč, Šibenik and Split, and operates on a total of 126.000 m2. Out of the total area in Zagreb alone, we operate on 110,000 m2, which would correspond to the area of 22 football fields.
We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
The historical development shows how much love and passion we invest in our business with the intention of preserving nature, but also the fact that we are constantly researching and looking for new ways to recover what is no longer useful to someone. Thus, through research and a special measurement carried out on 100 tons of incoming goods (garbage), we managed to dispose and recover 94 tons. The remaining 6% currently must be deposited in the classic way at the landfill, but there are already technologies that would use the energy potential of that part as well. In cooperation with partners, the company also started the production of electricity through the processing of bio-waste and waste from the food industry in a biogas plant. This type of process is also known as the ‘’energy from waste’’ process in which energy is obtained from waste.
Speaking of the vehicle fleet, we must emphasize that this is a modern and specialized vehicle fleet that is looked after by more than 40 drivers. The fleet currently has over 50 trucks, of which part of the MAN brand trucks were acquired on purpose, while the remaining vehicles are trucks taken over by the acquisition of other companies. MAN trucks serve a variety of purposes, from refrigerated trucks, ramp trucks and trucks to transport containers to tippers with cranes. That list still includes a truck that is known to all employees by the nickname ‘’Grandpa’’, which is where everything started when the company started managing waste independently. In 1994, in a very demanding business environment, Auto Hrvatska recognized the potential for the development of the company and supported it as a partner. Then ‘’Grandpa’’ was acquired – MAN 18.232 FKO, which was stored in a special garage where it became a big part of the company’s history. Cooperation with MAN and Auto Hrvatska continues to be excellent on both sides.
The attitude towards the vehicle fleet is also shown by the fact that all trucks are garaged, and with regular care, the trucks cover over 2 million kilometres per year. We do not only care about trucks, but also about people, so even in the general lack of drivers on the market we have no problem with that. Every driver appoints his truck, and employee feedback is extremely important to us, and we try to take it into account, such as a suggestion to start purchasing vehicles with an automatic transmission due to easier vehicle handling and speed, which in the end led to a reduction in fuel consumption. Since the beginning of our business, we have strived for this kind of care because we believe that people and trucks are the face of the company.
We must become aware and take care of the preservation of the natural environment, which is under increasing strain due to the industrial progress and the expanding human footprint. That this is about raising awareness and solving the ever-increasing problem of environmental protection is shown by the fact that we do not only manage waste, but throughout various activities organized for school children, such as lectures and tours through the plant, we try to raise awareness among the youngest, but also influence citizens and bring them closer to European habits and ways of thinking in order to preserve the environment. If the waste is thrown exactly where it should be, then with the help of Unija Nova and MAN trucks, it will end up where it should.