NEWSLETTER FOR 1st QUARTER OF 2022.

With great motivation, ambitions and plans, we stepped into 2022 for a reason.The results and achieved targets for 2021, that we presented in the "Annual Report on Packaging and Packaging Waste Management", which Ekopak submits every year to the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism and to the Environmental Protection Fund of Federation of BiH, once again confirmed the success and business agility of networks of partners.Ekopak achieved record quantities of packaging waste that we handed over for recycling in 2021: glass: 1,317 tons, metal: 369 tons, paper: 9,978, plastic: 1,564 tons, wood: 590 tons, multilayer packaging: 190 tons and hazardous packaging matter: 18 tons, in total 14,025 tons.

In the first quarter of this year, Ekopak received one of the most significant confirmations for successful business: an extended license for a system operator for the next five years. Namely, the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism in legally prescribed procedure, has extended the license for the operator of the packaging and packaging waste management system for the period 2022-2026.From 2012 until today, through a network of its collectors from the entire Federation of BiH, Ekopak has handed over more than 100,000 tons of all types of packaging waste for recycling.Ekopak continues to invest heavily in infrastructure for the development of packaging waste collection and recycling systems.

Thus, in January, we introduced the Municipality of Tomislavgrad into the system. On that occasion, Ekopak procured twenty special containers for separate disposal of packaging waste.
In the city of Sarajevo, underground containers were previously installed at five locations. In Februarythis year Ekopak renewed information boards that inform citizens about the proper disposal of packaging waste in underground containers.

Significant dates for the first quarter of this year followed, so Ekopak used the opportunity to organize the World Ecology Day and the World Recycling Day with workshops and education for children.Ekopak celebrated the World Ecology Day on February 22 with an educational workshop for children in Žepče. In cooperation with Ekotim, we held workshops entitled ‘Planetsmile is in your hands’ for the third and fourth grade students of the Catholic School Center Žepče in the cinema hall of the House of Culture Žepče.

World Recycling Day, March 18, was a special day for the children of the Sarajevo kindergarten "Ću-Ću". On this occasion, Ekopak showed its educational cartoon "Recycling is not a hassle", which introduced children to the importance of recycling packaging waste.The star of the cartoon, the mascot Zekopak, hung out with the children and taught them the proper disposal of packaging waste through his own example. At the end of this beautiful story, all participants received the Diploma of EkopakAmbassador, which confirms the successfully acquired knowledge from the celebration of World Recycling Day.

In March, Ekopak continued to invest in the development of packaging waste recycling systems: the Public Utility Company “Komrad” from Bihać received support from Ekopak in procuring a special truck for packaging wastecollecting, “Duga” from ŠirokiBrijeg also successfully procured a shredder for shredding plastic and paper, and the company “Ladanušić Čistoća” from Posušjeprocured a machine intended for shredding glass packaging waste.

Many projects were successfully implemented already in the first quarter of the year. Thus, a street campaign to collect glass packaging was held in Novi Travnik. In addition, the campaign was conducted within the regional project "Management of glass packaging in the Western Balkans", implemented by the German Organization for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the National Alliance for Local Economic Development “Naled”n cooperation with packaging waste management system operators “Ekopak” (BiH), “Sekopak” (Serbia), “Pakomak”(North Macedonia), and the Association for Economic Development of Herzegovina REDAH and the Association of Local Self-Government Units ZELS.

In March, we signed a memorandum of understanding with “Save The Children”, following the primary goal of increasing the inclusion of children in recycling processes. In this regard, on March 23, the first educational workshop for school children on "Waste Management" was held. The workshop, which was held at the Hollywood Hotel (Sarajevo), was attended by members of environmental sections, students, teaching and technical staff of two primary schools: Elementary School "Mirsad Prnjavorac" from Vogosca and Elementary School "StariIlijas" from Ilijas.

At the end of the first quarter, representatives of Ekopak and PUC RAD visited HORECA facilities in the Municipality of Ilidža as part of the project "Management of glass packaging in the Western Balkans", to whom they handed over special containers for the disposal of glass packaging waste, and employees were given waiter aprons with logo of the project. 

The special attention of the first quarter of this year is focused on the youngest members of our community. Daily initiatives related to the activities focused on importance of packaging waste recycling are indicators that our country is on the way to developing a system modeled on the development of best practice from the countries of the EU.

As in the previous ten years, Ekopak will continue its role as a leader on that path, with support of all stakeholders included in the value chain of packaging waste recycling.
Until next Newsletter of Ekopak, we send you kind regards.

Yours Faithfully,
Ekopak.