Across Bosnia and Herzegovina, local communities are taking practical steps to protect their environment, supported by CETAP’s “Let’s Adopt New Habits! Let’s Use Waste!” campaign. Through partnerships with civil society organisations, the project is helping turn environmental awareness into meaningful action, bringing volunteers together to clean up public spaces, protect natural landscapes and encourage more responsible waste management habits.

As part of the public awareness campaign CETAP has introduced partnered with five Non Governmenr Organisations (NGOs) to support volunteer-led environmental clean-up activities across Bosnia and Herzegovina – enabling local groups to organise clean-up events in their communities.

By working directly with grassroots organisations, CETAP aims to empower communities to take ownership of their local environments while raising awareness of the importance of waste prevention, responsible disposal and the principles of a circular economy.

Local Action Making a Difference in Čajniče

One example of this partnership in action took place on 22 October 2026, when Eco Center Čajniče organised a volunteer clean-up event involving ninth-grade pupils and teachers from a local primary school.

The volunteers worked together to clean the Studenac picnic area and the road leading to the Fairy Bukva site, two natural spaces enjoyed by the local community.

Supported by a CETAP, the activity brought together young people and educators to remove discarded waste and help preserve the area’s natural beauty.

In addition to collecting litter and cleaning the surrounding environment, the volunteers installed two warning signs reminding visitors that dumping waste is prohibited.

The event demonstrated how relatively small investments, combined with community enthusiasm and volunteer participation, can make a visible difference to local environments.

Educating the Next Generation Through Practical Experience

While removing waste was an important outcome of the activity, the clean-up also offered an opportunity to educate young people about environmental responsibility.

By participating directly in the clean-up, pupils experienced first-hand the consequences of littering and improper waste disposal, while learning the importance of protecting natural spaces for future generations.

These practical experiences are an important part of encouraging long-term behavioural change. When young people become actively involved in environmental protection, they can also become advocates for more sustainable habits within their families, schools and wider communities.

The organisers used the occasion to remind citizens of a simple but important principle: everything brought into nature should either be taken home or disposed of in an appropriate waste collection facility.

This message reflects one of the central aims of CETAP’s public awareness campaign: encouraging individuals to recognise their responsibility in preventing waste pollution and protecting shared environments.

Supporting Grassroots Environmental Action Across Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Čajniče clean-up forms part of a broader CETAP initiative designed to strengthen cooperation with local environmental organisations and encourage citizen participation.

Through our NGO partnerships, CETAP supports volunteer activities focused on cleaning rivers, riverbanks, public spaces and areas affected by illegal waste dumping.

The programme recognises that local civil society organisations are particularly well placed to identify environmental challenges, mobilise volunteers and engage directly with communities.

Alongside the immediate environmental benefits of removing waste, these partnerships provide opportunities to build stronger relationships between citizens, schools and environmental organisations.

They also demonstrate how community-led action can complement wider efforts to improve waste collection, separate waste streams, increase recycling and support the transition towards a circular economy.

Turning Awareness into Lasting Behavioural Change

CETAP’s public awareness campaign is built around encouraging people to move beyond simply understanding environmental challenges and towards adopting new, more sustainable practices.

Community clean-up events provide a tangible example of this approach.

By participating in these activities, citizens can see the direct impact of waste pollution on their surroundings and the positive results that collective action can achieve.

However, the long-term objective goes beyond cleaning up existing waste. It is about preventing waste from entering the environment in the first place, encouraging responsible disposal and helping communities recognise the value of materials that can be reused or recycled.

Through partnerships with organisations such as Eco Center Čajniče, CETAP is helping reinforce these messages at the community level, demonstrating that everyone has a role to play in creating a cleaner and more sustainable Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Small Actions, Lasting Impact

The success of local initiatives depends not only on the amount of waste removed, but also on the attitudes and behaviours they help change.

The enthusiasm shown by pupils, teachers and volunteers in Čajniče illustrates the value of bringing communities together around a shared environmental goal.

As CETAP continues to support local environmental action, these partnerships highlight an important message: creating a cleaner future requires collective responsibility, practical participation and a willingness to adopt new habits.

Through community engagement, education and local action, the campaign “Let’s Adopt New Habits! Let’s Use Waste!” is helping turn the principles of the circular economy into everyday practice across Bosnia and Herzegovina.