During the visit, Ekopak's director, Amela Hrbat, presented Ekopak's business achievements to date, which operate on the principle of "extended producer responsibility," a modern instrument implemented in most EU countries and our region. The discussion highlighted the importance of joint action by all stakeholders in the recycling process, from the Federal Ministry of Environment to local communities, to achieve better results and direct as much packaging waste as possible to recycling, and less to local landfills.

A special focus was on improving recycling infrastructure and the importance of continuous efforts to raise citizens' awareness about the importance of separate disposal of packaging waste. Ekopak has developed specific projects for preschool and school-age children, transferring Europe's experiences, which show that this is an area where children educate their parents on how to properly handle waste. Of course, punitive policies must be available to sanction those who do not comply with regulations, all to adopt another European principle in our country, which is "pay as you throw." In this way, citizens would be encouraged to separate larger quantities of recyclable materials into designated bins and dispose of only the part that cannot be recycled.