Mr. Marius Costache, as General Manager of GreenWEEE, joined our initiative and revealed to us what the period of isolation and the total COVID-19 pandemic meant to him, which were the novelties in his personal and business life.
ECOLOGICAL: What activities did you carry out during this period spent at home?
Marius Costache: Except for the first two weeks of lockdown when I worked more from home, my schedule was normal, the time being divided between GreenWEEE Buzau and GreenGlass Bucharest. In my free time I preferred to read in order to detach myself a little from the “madness” of COVID.
ECOTIC: What do you think were the benefits for the environment during this period?
Marius Costache: The fact that the world "froze", especially between March and May, had a major impact on the environment. For example, Overshoot Day was "overtaken" by 3 weeks compared to last year - https://www.overshootday.org. This is due to a combination of factors: less CO2 emissions, improved air quality, lower consumption of natural resources. We have all seen images of cleaner rivers, blue skies over New Delhi in India, or animals walking fearlessly in the free cities. Now it remains to be seen and depends only on us and our attitude how we keep this trend, once it returns to normal.
ECOLOGICAL: How did this period impact you? Personally, but also professionally.
Marius Costache: I quickly overcame the initial shock and panic, but this crisis showed me many aspects of human nature, aspects that I had not seen before or maybe I was too busy to see. At the same time, I learned many things from this crisis, both professionally and personally. I myself have learned to prioritize the things that are really important, both in business and personal life.
ECOLOGICAL: Have you decided to change something in your daily work, related to environmental protection?
Marius Costache: The crisis has forced us to look at things differently, to focus on the environment in which we live and to re-evaluate our priorities and what we really appreciate. While protecting ourselves, I would encourage everyone to do everything possible to take care of the environment as well.
I think it's the perfect time for people to realize that globally flattening the climate change curve and destroying the environment is as important as slowing the spread of COVID-19 cases. So we all need to put our ideas and change our lifestyle into one that is more attentive to the environment and its needs.
Thank you for participating and sharing these thoughts!