CETAP Project: Steering Committee Meeting Held in Sarajevo

The Steering Committee meeting of the CETAP (Circular Economy and Waste Management Project) project was held on March 12, 2025, in Sarajevo, with the aim of discussing the progress and strategic direction of the project. This key event gathered representatives from leading institutions and organizations to discuss the critical aspects of the project and its effective implementation in line with EU standards and the principles of circular economy.

During the meeting, participants thoroughly reviewed the Draft Progress Report covering the period from November 10, 2024, to February 14, 2025. Discussions focused on current challenges, ongoing activities, and next steps to ensure the continued efficient implementation of the project and the achievement of its planned goals. Special attention was given to improving material recovery from waste through separate collection, reuse, and recycling.

The meeting was attended by representatives from key institutions and organizations:

  • Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Ministry of Environment and Tourism of the Federation of BiH

  • Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction, and Ecology of the Republic of Srpska

  • Government of Brčko District BiH, Department for Communal Affairs – Sub-department for Capital Investments

  • Directorate for European Integration of BiH (observer in the Steering Committee)

  • COWI A/S

  • Umweltbundesamt – Austrian Environment Agency

The CETAP project remains committed to achieving sustainable solutions in waste management, aiming to enhance existing systems through the integration of innovative approaches to circular economy. During this meeting, the Steering Committee members once again reaffirmed their dedication to creating long-term, sustainable solutions that will have a positive impact on environmental protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We thank all Steering Committee members for their valuable contributions to shaping a more sustainable future for our country.

by Cetap

Visit to Banja Luka

It was good to have our mission to the Republika Srpska this month and to meet some of the key project stakeholders from there. It was also lovely to meet our local expert from Banja Luka, Dr Drazenko Bjelic. 

We had a really good programme for the week-long visit and this included meetings with the Ministry of Environment where we met Mr Dusko Solomun and Mr Marko Gajic; we also met with representatives from the Chamber of Commerce of the Republika Srpska – Mrs Dragana Kokot and Mr Marko Savić. It was really good to hear all the excellent work being done by the Chamber in regard to the Circular Economy Agenda. We had a tour round their excellent conferencing facilities and we look forward to close co-operation with them throughout the CETAP project. 

In addition to those meetings we also met with representatives - Aleksandar Bajić and Vladimir Ilić -of the Banja Luka Cistoca who are responsible for municipal waste management in the Banja Luka Municipal area. It was a really helpful meeting and provided us with a detailed insight into the role of the Cistoca in the context of waste management activities and the broader interest in Circular Economy. 

We had a similarly fruitful meeting with Mr Ratko Jokić, Director, DE-POT Company who operate the regional landfill of Banja Luka. 

We also had an excellent meeting with Mr  Zoran Lukač who hosted the meeting at the offices of the Environment Protection Fund in Banja Luka. This was our first opportunity to discuss the project with him and to explain the importance of the role to be played by the Environment Protection Fund particularly in regard to the provision of data and also the proposed hosting of the new Waste Exchange Platform to be developed under the project. 

Lastly, while in Banja Luka we managed to meet with Mrs Andela Laketic, EuroBeta who explained the role that EuroBeta play in the only Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Scheme in the Republika Srpska. She explained that the system in the Republika Srpska in terms of the EPR scheme was based on non-hazardous packaging waste only. She was really informative and we learned a lot about the operation of the EPR Scheme in the Republika Srpska.

Before we left the Republika Srpska we had a couple of more meetings to attend, firstly with Boris Malinovic, Director, Promal AB Company. Mr Malinovic informed the team that his company had facilities at Brcko District and also at Bijeljina where their focus was the recycling of paper & packaging waste. They have been doing this as a family business for 15 years now. They manage plastic waste and other packaging waste but are not within the EPR scheme.

by Cetap