Vogošća first in Sarajevo Canton to get eco-islands for selective waste collection

Vogošća has become the first municipality in Sarajevo Canton where waste will be disposed of selectively and prepared for recycling, writes the BH news agency Patria (NAP).

The contract for Vogošća's entry into the so-called "Green Dot System", which Ekopak is building in BiH based on European experience, was signed on Wednesday by the Mayor of Vogošća Municipality Edin Smajić, representative of the company Aida Commerce Sead Alić, and Ekopak Director Amela Hrbat.

Ekopak has committed to financing the procurement of "bells" for the establishment of seven eco-islands in Vogošća, meaning seven locations in this Sarajevo municipality where cardboard, plastic, metal, and glass packaging will be collected separately, reports Patria.

The eco-islands in Vogošća will have a special solar-powered lighting system, which is the first such example in BiH.

Bosnia and Herzegovina will end 2014 with around 20,000 tons of recycled waste, which is double the amount from the previous two years, it was announced a few days ago at a press conference in Sarajevo organized by Ekopak.

In the last few years, BiH has made great progress in waste recycling; most local landfills have been closed, while several regional landfills have been opened where waste is collected and recycled, and at the Sarajevo landfill, waste is also converted into energy.

BiH's plan is to recycle about 35 percent of the country's waste by 2016.

Mladen Rudež, Assistant Minister of the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism, stated that waste is money, and that the national plan is for BiH, following the example of modern European countries, to dispose of only 1% of waste in the future, and to recycle and export the rest, writes Patria.