CETAP partnered with Coca-Cola and Konzum to deliver a bottle return scheme in Bosnia and Herzegovina which shows how accessible collection points, practical incentives and strong partnerships can turn awareness into action.

Over six weeks, citizens across five cities returned 249,367 PET bottles and received BAM 24,936.70 in BONUS marks—setting a new record for the initiative.

A record-breaking season for recycling

From 13 June to 18 July 2026, citizens deposited PET bottles at seven collection points in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Tuzla, Zenica and Mostar. This is the fourth addition of Coca-Cola’s “Recycle Me. Give Me a New Life.” Project – and with CETAP’s support – its most successful yet, with almost a quarter of a million bottles collected.

Participants who returned PET packaging at selected Konzum stores received BONUS marks directly on their Pika Cards. By combining convenient collection with a tangible benefit, the campaign helped make environmentally responsible behaviour easier to adopt as part of everyday life.

Why CETAP joined the initiative

This year, CETAP joined Coca-Cola and Konzum as a project partner as part of our ‘Let’s adopt new habits. Let’s use waste!’ campaign. For CETAP, the campaign is a practical example of the circular economy in action: materials are collected separately, processed responsibly and returned to the production cycle instead of being treated as waste.

CETAP—Technical Assistance for Improved Material Recovery from Waste through Separate Collection, Reuse and Recycling Based on Circular Economy Principles—is funded by the European Union. The project supports Bosnia and Herzegovina in improving waste-management practices and aligning them with the European Green Deal and circular economy principles.

The campaign also reflects CETAP’s wider public-awareness message: lasting progress depends not only on infrastructure, but also on giving people the capability, opportunity and motivation to adopt new habits. The record participation achieved this year demonstrates what can happen when all three come together.

Partnership turns participation into impact

All PET packaging collected through the campaign was handled, processed and recycled by project partners Ekopak and Eurobeta in accordance with high recycling standards. This ensured that the material was returned to the production cycle and given a new purpose—an essential step in closing the loop.

“Every bottle collected represents an important step in closing the loop of collecting, processing and reusing packaging. Said Igor Zgrabljić, Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Coca-Cola HBC Adria

Zgrabljić highlighted the continued year-on-year growth in both the number of bottles collected and the number of participants, describing it as evidence that investment in environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility is effective. He also thanked the citizens and project partners whose participation made the results possible.

Adisa Zimić, Head of Marketing at Konzum, noted that the results show responsible packaging-waste management becoming part of everyday life for more citizens. She emphasised that small changes in daily behaviour can produce a significant benefit for communities and the environment.

Building momentum for a circular economy

Results from the initiative over the past five years point to growing awareness of recycling in Bosnia and Herzegovina. More people are recognising the value of separating waste and keeping useful materials in circulation.

For CETAP, this record is both a reason to celebrate and a foundation on which to build. Continued cooperation between citizens, businesses, waste-management organisations and public institutions will be essential to make separate collection and recycling more accessible across the country.

Nearly 250,000 returned bottles represent nearly 250,000 individual choices to use waste as a resource. Together, those choices are helping Bosnia and Herzegovina move towards a cleaner, more circular future.