Ten Years of Caring for the Environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina

ZEOS EKO-SISTEM SARAJEVO Ten Years of Caring

for the Environment in B&H

E-WASTE IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM

AND ZEOS EKO-SISTEM

D.O.O. SIGNIFICANTLY

CONTRIBUTES TO ITS SOLUTION

Adequate e-waste disposal is one of the world’s leading environmental problems. A large part is burned or disposed of in landfills, which poses serious challenges for the environment, human health and the achievement of sustainable development goals. E-waste management in Bosnia and Herzegovina is regulated at the entity levels. ZEOS eko-sistem d.o.o. is the first waste electrical and electronic equipment management system operator in Bosnia and Herzegovina, authorized by the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism. As a result of ten years of ZEOS eko-sistem d.o.o.’s work our citizens are becoming more aware of the environmental threats caused by e-waste and the importance of its proper disposal.

400 DISPOSAL LOCATIONS

The ZEOS eko-sistem is a place to go when citizens want to get rid of unnecessary electronic equipment and appliances in a proper way and completely free of charge.

EDUCATION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

They have also ambitiously dedicated themselves to educating young people. The implementation of the “Zelena revolucija 2” (The Green Revolution 2) project is underway, through which students from 140 elementary schools in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are working on building eco-habits of e-waste disposal. Habits are most easily acquired at that age, so we engage elementary school children in activities related to proper waste disposal. Approximately 100,000 BAM will be invested in this project, which lays the foundations for a clean future for the coming generations, concluded Šehić. As part of the “Zelena revolucija” project, ZEOS cooperated with 273 schools and 117,000 students.

RECYCLING YARD WITH THE FIRST RE-USE HOUSE

In order to improve the selective waste collection system and its recycling, Cantonal Public Utility company (KJKP) RAD, with the financial support of the system operator Ekopak and ZEOS eko-sistem, opened a recycling yard in Paromlinska street 64 in Sarajevo (across from Velepekara bakery). Working hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. every day, and citizens, in addition to free disposal of packaging, electronic and construction waste as well as car tires, can leave things they do not want to throw away in the designated RE-USE. These things will surely be useful to someone

This electrical and electronic equipment management system operator has been responsibly collecting, disposing of and recycling e-waste for ten years, so that it does not end up in landfills. Offering citizens and companies the opportunity to collect electrical/electronic equipment from them for free or to dispose of it themselves at one of the 400 e-waste disposal locations, they have collected 200 tons of e-waste since the company started its operation in 2013. It is important to note that all locations for proper e-waste disposal are located on the interactive map available on the website www. zeos.ba. The company also cares about the education of the population, implementing numerous projects at different levels. We asked Emil Šehić, director of ZEOS eko-sistem for more information about the attitude of individuals and companies towards the e-waste disposal and the results achieved in the past period. From the beginning of the company’s operations in 2013 until today, we had the best results in 2021, when we collected 2,958 tons of e-waste. Current data show that for January 2022, compared to the previous year, the number of registered orders from companies for free e-waste collection increased by 96 percent, Šehić points out, stating that they cooperate with more than 400 legal entities, and that citizens are also delighted with the unique service of free e-waste doorstep collection, which was introduced last year.

Since they expanded the “eco family” to households, the phones have not stopped ringing. The response was great, so we extended the campaign. The goal is to continue the successful practice of e-waste collection, he says, adding that the ZEOS eko-sistem collects about nine tons of e-waste per day, mainly large and small household appliances, refrigerators, TV monitors and light bulbs.

MOBILE RECYCLING YARD

As an authorized operator from 2022, we also offer the population a free service of a mobile recycling yard. In practice, we visit rural settlements in a van and enable citizens to get rid of appliances that they no longer use, he explains. Proper e-waste disposal is a prerequisite for an extremely important step - recycling, for which our country has the capacity. Different categories of electrical waste can be processed and recycled in BiH; large and small appliances and cooling devices without freon, while gas lamps, cooling devices with freon and cathode ray tubes of TV monitors are exported for processing abroad, explains Šehić and reminds that after collection, processing, treatment and recycling are carried out through ZEOS, respecting ecological standards. In the field of electrical waste recycling, our company becomes number one in the country, and additional investments will ensure the long-term sustainability of the system, its efficiency and recognition, he points out.

ACCORDING TO THE GLOBAL E-WASTE MONITOR, 50 MILLION METRIC TONS OF E-WASTE ARE GENERATED ANNUALLY, WHICH IS EQUAL TO THE WEIGHT OF ALMOST 4,500 EIFFEL TOWERS.

E-WASTE COLLECTION INFRASTRUCTURE

The corona virus pandemic and the challenges that accompanied it did not slow down the ZEOS eko-sistem. They made significant investments in the development of e-waste disposal systems as well as infrastructure. As part of the project Ekolucija – revolucija ekološke svijesti (Ecolution - Ecological Awareness Revolution) 125,000 KM was invested in the procurement and installation of 17 special street e-waste containers in the area of Tuzla and Živinice during last year. The collection network is growing, and the implementation of an investment worth 200,000 BAM, secured from ZEOS’ own funds, and the procurement of new containers for e-waste, which will be installed in municipalities throughout the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is currently underway.