NEWSLETTER FOR 1th QUARTER OF 2024.

Welcome to our Newsletter for the first quarter of 2024!

The first quarter of our operations was marked by the preparation and submission of the Annual Report on Packaging and Packaging Waste Management for the year 2023. In accordance with Article 26 of the Regulations on Packaging and Packaging Waste Management, Ekopak submitted the aforementioned report to the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the Environmental Protection Fund of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 31, 2024.

In the past year, Ekopak exceeded the prescribed recycling targets, submitting 17,925 tons of packaging waste for recycling. Through a network of collectors from all 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we submitted nearly 18,000 tons of packaging waste for recycling, which was above the annual target.

We proudly highlight that not only were the prescribed recycling targets met, but they were exceeded by 6% concerning the total amount, including specific targets for all types packaging materials. Since the start of operations in 2012, Ekopak has submitted close to 140,000 tons of packaging waste for recycling, equivalent to over 7,500 trucks.

The results for the year 2023, presented in the Annual Report, clearly demonstrate the dedication and success in achieving our mission. These results are the fruit of cooperation with our clients - producers, importers, and distributors of packaged products, and our 23 valuable collectors from the private and public sectors, including 12 public utilities and 11 private companies.

In the first quarter of 2024, excellent cooperation continued with our collectors, who are achieving increasingly better results. We particularly highlight the collaboration with KJKP Rad Sarajevo, representing a significant step in improving the packaging waste management system in the Sarajevo Canton. An increase in the collected quantities of packaging waste was recorded at JKP Tomislavgrad, JKP Rad Ključ, and JKP Vodograd Prozor-Rama.

We continuously monitor the needs of our partners and invest in infrastructure to enhance the packaging waste recycling system. Thus, we delivered 20 containers for collecting glass packaging to JKP "Vodograd" from Prozor-Rama, a set of containers for packaging waste disposal to the Goethe Institute in BiH, and to the international organization GOPA Worldwide Consultants.

We haven't forgotten our youngest ones: we created educational calendars for schoolchildren and distributed them to schools in municipalities with which we have established cooperation. We also supported the Exhibition "Mostar Eco City - Guardians of the Future," organized by the association "Something More" from Mostar.

Ekopak, as the exclusive licensee for the use of the internationally protected symbol "Green Dot" in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is once again organizing a series of Green Dot promotions in shopping centers across our country this year. In the first quarter, we engaged with consumers at FIS Vitez, SCC, and Importane Center in Sarajevo, as well as Mepas Mall in Mostar, providing them with the opportunity to learn more about the "Green Dot" and why it is important to purchase products whose packaging bears this symbol. Additionally, Green Dot prepared symbolic gifts for all customers purchasing products marked with the Green Dot, and we invited them to choose products from manufacturers who label their packaging with the Green Dot when making their purchases. The promotions were supported by companies participating in the Green Dot system, including Coca-Cola, Orbico, Fino, Ledo, Royal food and Nestle.

We also had a visit from the Minister of Spatial Planning, Construction, and Environmental Protection of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Mr. Zvonimir Širić, with whom we exchanged plans and ideas and held a very fruitful meeting.
Ekopak is already working hard to achieve its goals for 2024 and is preparing new projects, about which we will inform you in the upcoming issues of our Newsletter.
Until then, we warmly greet you and wish you pleasant and successful days of spring.