NEWSLETTER FOR 1st QUARTER OF 2021

In front of you is Ekopak newsletter for the first quarter of 2021.

Despite an extremely challenging year due to the coronavirus pandemic and all the consequences it brought, Ekopak with its partners consisting of 21 collectors from all over the Federation of BiH and on behalf of more than 700 manufacturers, importers, distributors and traders who transferred the obligation to manage packaging and packaging waste, managed to send 11,911 tons of packaging waste for recycling.

The results and achieved targets for 2020 in the "Annual Report on Packaging Waste Management", which Ekopak submits every year to the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the Environmental Protection Fund of the Federation of BiH, once again confirmed the success and business agility of Ekopak's network.

We are especially proud to already achieved, significant steps within the regional project "Management of glass packaging in the Western Balkans" which Ekopak is implementing in cooperation with the German GIZ, National Alliance for Local Economic Development Naled from Serbia, Association for Economic Development of Herzegovina REDAH from Mostar and system operators Sekopak from Serbia and Pakomak from Northern Macedonia. After 1,000 glass packaging recycling containers began arriving in the region in December 2020, the regional project has been expanded to eight more municipalities, making glass disposal available to 1.5 million citizens from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Northern Macedonia. Symbolically, on the day of marking the World Recycling Day, Ekopak, together with GIZ and REDAH delivered 90 special containers (bells) for collecting glass packaging, 50 for the municipality of Ilidža and 40 for the municipality of Konjic. Previously, 69 containers for glass packaging were delivered to the City of Bihać and 31 to the Municipality of Novi Travnik.

Zenica Youth Center joined the Ekopak packaging waste management system on the day of the "World Environment Education Day" as well as Primary School. "Aleksa Santic" and the Second Gymnasium from Sarajevo, to which we provided bins for sorting waste. To municipality of Vogošća, with which we have been cooperating since 2015, we handed over 30 paper collection containers that were placed in the municipal premises. With Public Utility Company Vitkom we will start reparation of eco island in municipality of Vitez. In the Municipality of Breza, we started with the organized collection of glass packaging. Our support for the program and the international competition "Young Eco Reporters" continues this year as well. The Eco-school program currently covers 33 primary schools and 27 secondary schools from all over the country.

Ekopak will take part in another very important project called "Improving the living and health conditions of citizens in local communities of Sarajevo Canton" initiated by the Czech Embassy in Sarajevo, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the Czech Development Agency.
Finally, we would like to point out that the FBiH waste management information system has been established at the FBiH Environmental Protection Fund. This system was put into operational use on January 1, 2021, and all entities that manage waste as well as entities that produce / have waste should be registered in the Information System of Waste Management of FBiH and submit data for 2020 no later than 30.06.2021.

This year, we are preparing numerous projects which we are implementing in accordance with the current situation and the prescribed measures of the competent state authorities.

We hope that you will enjoy reading our newsletter as much as we, at Ekopak, enjoy in development of our system in cooperation with clients and collectors and in accordance with our capabilities and numerous challenges we face on a daily basis.