INTERVIEW IOSIF VANGELATOS, GENERAL MANAGER, AND MIRJANA RADIĆ, FINANCE MANAGER, INOS BALKAN
Circular Economy
IS OUR FUTURE
I
t seems that the recycling industry will be among the top beneficiaries over the coming years. Demand for secondary raw materials will be high and stable, while adequate financing will secure the necessary capital expenditure for capacity expansion projects.
Given that your company has been present in Serbia since 200s, do you get the impression that a lot has improved, that awareness is shifting; that we now grasp the fact that waste is a commodity and a valuable resource? During all these years, we’ve been witnessing the transformation of Serbia in political, economic and social terms. Environmental awareness is also part of those reforms. The appropriate legal framework is in place and citizens’ awareness
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is increasing. People do now understand that natural resources are not infinite and that our quality of life depends strongly on how efficiently we utilise those resources. Serbian society is realising that we need to reengineer many areas of human activities. We need to rethink how we cultivate the land and how we breed animals; how we produce food and energy and how we utilise our waste. The economic model is no longer linear. The principles of the circular economy are a vital component in the effort to decrease the environmental impact of human activities and, of course, waste is a valuable resource and commodity. Despite Serbia not being an EU member state, lots of work is being done in an effort to harmonise laws regulating environmental
protection and the circular economy. Would you say that we are on the right track? Though Serbia is not yet an EU member state, it has signed the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU – which has been in force since September 2013 – and Serbia was granted EU candidate status in March 2012. The SAA represents the necessary legal framework or tool for the improvement of cooperation with EU institutions. The SAA creates the required ecosystem for the country to adopt all essential reforms, including environmental protection policies, and thus achieve integration with the EU acquis. Some might argue that the process is slow, but I believe strongly that we are on the right track. As recyclers, we are witnessing the continuing
