Globally, 1 million plastic bags are used every minute. Although the average person uses a bag for only 25 minutes, once it enters the environment, it takes 100-500 years for it to fully decompose and, among many other negative impacts, plastic bags pose a threat to marine animals.

In response to these challenges, July 3 marks International Plastic Bag Free Day. This year, Tegeta Motors responded to the global challenge with an awareness campaign.

Customers visiting the company's branches were given branded reusable fabric bags as well as informative brochures. Tegeta Motors started replacing plastic bags with fabric bags in 2019.

Tatia Khorbaladze, Head of Strategic Communications at Tegeta Holding: At Tegeta Motors, environmental care and effective waste management are an integral part of the company's business activities. In addition to the main environmental projects, we have implemented a number of social responsibility processes. For example, Tegeta Motors has been offering its customers reusable bags instead of plastic bags for many years. Over the years, we have saved the planet from using more than 655,000 plastic bags. This year we celebrated International Plastic Bag Free Day with a special activity and believe that with these steps we will further raise awareness and have a positive impact on the environment."

The fabric bags created for International Plastic Bag Free Day were made by the social enterprise Zero Effect, a partner of tegeta.care. It is an eco-friendly store that aims to reduce daily waste to zero. And on the part of Tegeta Motors, supporting such partners is part of its responsible purchasing practices, which in turn promotes social entrepreneurship.

Reusable fabric bags are considered the best alternative to plastic bags. If such bags are exposed to nature, they are completely degradable. The constant use of one reusable bag can replace more than 500 plastic bags in a year.

In addition, the company carries out a number of other environmental activities. For example, more than 30 green boxes are placed in Tegeta's offices and branches, where more than 40,000 plastic items are collected and sent for recycling every year. Together with Tegeta Green Planet, millions of tons of automotive waste, including used tires, batteries and oil, are turned into useful resources.

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Environmental protection is a strategic focus of Tegeta Motors' social responsibility, which is planned with sustainability in mind. Tegeta Motors is actively working on sustainable transportation solutions to achieve zero emissions, effective waste management and environmental awareness. Together with Tegeta Green Planet, millions of tons of automotive waste - waste tires, batteries and oils - are collected annually and recycled in accordance with technical regulations. Tegeta Motors is expanding its network of charging stations for electric vehicles, and its fleet partly consists of all-electric and hybrid vehicles, including the management of internal business processes - warehousing and transportation - using eco-friendly vehicles from 2021. Infrastructure projects include the installation of solar panels and the sustainable use of natural resources. In addition, Tegeta Motors works to involve customers and employees in environmental projects. These include the “Don't Throw Away, hand in for Recycling” campaign and hundreds of specific waste items handed in by customers, dozens of green boxes for collecting waste paper and plastic at Tegeta's service centers and branches, environmental campaigns for garbage collection, youth awareness, etc.