Nearly 250,000 PET Bottles Collected as Citizens Embrace New Recycling Habits
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.
Supporting Doboj’s Youngest Citizens to Separate Waste
Turning environmental awareness into everyday action
As part of wider activities to raise awareness of environmental protection, primary school pupils in Doboj took part in an educational session on separating waste correctly at the point where it is generated.
The pupils were shown, in a clear and practical way, why waste should be disposed of properly and how each person can help create a cleaner and healthier community. By connecting environmental ideas with simple actions that children can apply at school and at home, the session made responsible waste management easier to understand.
Learning what goes where
A key focus of the activity was helping pupils recognise the correct containers for common recyclable materials. Paper and cardboard should be placed in the blue container, while plastic should be placed in the yellow container.
Although these instructions are straightforward, learning them early is an important part of building confidence and reducing contamination in separately collected waste. Clear guidance helps children understand that correct separation is not an abstract environmental goal, but a practical habit they can adopt every day.
Building responsible habits from an early age
Educational activities of this kind aim to develop responsible habits among younger generations and strengthen their understanding of why protecting the environment matters. Children can also carry these lessons beyond the classroom, sharing what they have learned with their families and helping good recycling practices become more widely understood.
For CETAP, education is a vital part of the transition to a circular economy. Infrastructure for separate collection is essential, but it must be supported by knowledge: people need to know what can be recycled, how materials should be separated and why keeping resources in circulation is worthwhile.
CETAP support for local environmental education
The activity was delivered by KP “Progres” a.d. Doboj with the support of CETAP—who provided the recycling bins as well as branded stickers to make it clear and appealing which recycling materials go into which bin.
Funded by the European Union, CETAP supports Bosnia and Herzegovina in improving waste-management practices and aligning them with the European Green Deal and circular economy principles. Working with local partners allows the project to translate these wider objectives into practical activities that respond to the needs of individual communities.
By giving children clear information and practical skills, we can help a new generation see waste not simply as something to throw away, but as a resource that can be separated, recovered and used again.
