Od 1. januára tohto roku sa na Slovensku zálohujú PET fľaše a plechovky. Cieľom bolo znížiť množstvo plastového a plechového odpadu povaľujúceho sa v prírode a finančne motivovať ľudí, aby všetky tieto obaly namiesto rozhazovania po zemi vracali späť do obchodov. Na všetkých týchto obaloch sa odvtedy zjavil symbol "Z" - zálohované.
Since January 1 of this year, PET bottles and cans have been backed up in Slovakia. The goal was to reduce the amount of plastic and tin waste lying around in nature and financially motivate people to return all these packaging to stores instead of throwing them on the ground. Since then, the symbol "Z" - from the word "Zálohované" ("backed up" in Slovak language) - has appeared on all these packages.
Symbol "Z" na plechovke nemenovaného piva / The "Z" symbol on a beer can
Vtedy ešte nikto nemohol tušiť, že Putinov sovietsko-imperialistický mindset prerastie až do takej miery, že ruské vojská napadnú Ukrajinu a písmeno "Z" sa stane symbolom podpory ruskej agresie. Označené sú ním tanky, obrnené transportéry a raketomety ničiace ukrajinskú infraštruktúru a obytné budovy.
At that time, no one could have guessed that Putin's Soviet-imperialist mindset would grow to such extent that Russian troops would invade Ukraine... and the letter "Z" would become a symbol of support for Russian aggression. Tanks, armored vehicles and rocket launchers destroying Ukrainian infrastructure and residential buildings are marked with it.
Vždy keď si teraz kúpim takúto zálohovanú fľašu alebo plechovku, spomeniem si na zverstvá páchané na Ukrajine a rozmýšľam, či by tento symbol zálohovania nebolo lepšie zmeniť.
Možno je ale všetko naopak. Vzhľadom k tomu koľko ruských "plechoviek" ostáva pokrčených váľajúc sa po zemi je tiež možné, že sa ruskí okupanti u nás inšpirovali a chcú sa správať ekologicky. A týmto symbolom na svojich tankoch nám chcú povedať, že by sme tie ich rozbité a pokrčené plechovky nemali nechávať len tak pohodené po krajine, ale mali by sme ich odovzdať na recykláciu.
Every time I buy such a backup bottle or can now, I remember the atrocities committed in Ukraine and wonder if this symbol of backup shouldn't better be changed.
But maybe everything is the other way around. Considering how many Russian "cans" remain crumpled rolling on the ground, it is also possible that the Russian occupiers were inspired by us and just want to behave ecologically. And with this symbol on their tanks, they want to tell us that we shouldn't just leave their broken and crumpled cans lying around, but we should hand them in for recycling instead.
