Project CETAP held its fifth Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting on 9 December 2025 at Hotel Jelena in Brčko, marking another key milestone in the project’s delivery. The meeting focused on reviewing progress achieved during the fourth reporting period and agreeing priorities for the coming months ahead.
The meeting was formally opened by Mr E. Scott Crossett, the Project Team Leader, and was attended by members of the CETAP team as well as PSC members and observers, including representatives from EU institutions, state and entity ministries, and the Brčko District.
Review of Progress and Reporting Period Activities
The Steering Committee reviewed the productive progress made during the reporting period 1 September – 30 November 2025, including findings from Results-Oriented Monitoring (ROM), and discussed planned activities for 1 December 2025 – 28 February 2026.
A central item was the Draft Study Report, which provides a comprehensive analysis of policy and regulatory frameworks, market analysis, priority waste streams, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, technological innovation, financial and stakeholder assessments, and opportunities to treat waste as a resource. Practical examples, such as container glass, are included to illustrate market potential.
Legislative Alignment and Compliance Work
Significant progress has been made on legislative alignment with the EU waste acquis. The Project Team has reviewed the Draft Law on Waste Management of the Federation of BiH and prepared targeted recommendations to strengthen alignment with EU requirements.
Compliance Tables have been completed for all relevant administrative bodies under the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC). Work is ongoing for the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 and the WEEE Directive (2012/19/EU), with all remaining compliance work expected to be finalised in the first half of 2026.
Strategic Planning and Local-Level Engagement
A draft content outline has been developed for the Strategic Planning Guideline and Waste Management Plans. As part of this work, workshops with municipalities in Republika Srpska have commenced and work is progressing with 17 exemplar municipalities in total under the programme running through June 2026.
In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, meetings have been held with selected exemplar cantons, which have submitted formal requests for technical assistance. These cantons are at varying stages of readiness: some require only a review of existing plans, others need updates aligned with planned investments or feasibility studies, while some will require full waste management plans developed from the ground up.
Platforms for Cooperation and Waste Commerce
The Project Steering Committee reviewed progress on the development of both the multi-stakeholder platform and the waste exchange platform.
Meetings have been held with the Chambers of Commerce in the Federation of BiH, Republika Srpska, and Brčko District. While the FBiH and RS chambers already operate suitable digital platforms, the Brčko District chamber will require minor upgrades to meet security standards—support that will be provided by the project. Long-term sustainability was emphasised, with chambers expected to assume responsibility for administration and membership-based financing after project completion.
For the waste exchange platform, both Entity Environment Funds have agreed to host the system within their existing waste information infrastructures, ensuring consistency with EU reporting and data requirements.
Pilot Actions and Public Awareness
During this reporting period, the project delivered three key outputs supporting pilot actions for waste recovery and recycling:
- A waste-category screening report
- A framework for selecting bankable projects
- Project fiches for identified pilot investments
The Project Team is also reviewing data on collected and treated volumes of selected waste streams in close coordination with municipalities and councils. Work continues on EPR schemes and management systems for priority waste streams, including options related to end-of-waste status, glass, and PET.
Progress was also presented on the public awareness campaign, for which the campaign strategy has now been approved. Preparations are underway for launch events scheduled for January 2026.
Mr Crossett closed the meeting by thanking all participants for their continued engagement and constructive contributions. The meeting formally concluded at 15:00.