Step by step towards improving support for informal collectors of secondary raw materials

Donor: UNDP Circular Award
Partners: Business Association of Public Utility Companies "KOMDEL"
Implementation period: November 17, 2023 – November 1, 2024

The primary goal of the pilot project Step by Step towards Improving Support for Informal Recyclable Material Collectors is to inform individual recyclable material collectors in the city of Pančevo about potential upcoming changes in the packaging and packaging waste management system, with the aim of facilitating and improving their integration into the system both before and after the introduction of the announced deposit return system for beverage containers.

This initiative aims to improve the packaging waste management system and will provide significant recommendations for changing the position of informal collectors. It is estimated that there are about 55,000 informal collectors in the Republic of Serbia, who, according to available data, annually collect around 215,441 tons of packaging waste, making them a crucial link in this system.

Key project activities include:

• Preparing and developing the curriculum, mapping collectors
• Piloting the curriculum: conducting two workshop modules for 20 informal collectors
• Social integration of collectors through activities in the area of dialogue with stakeholders and public policy creation – familiarization with the work of the Environmental Protection Alliance and the Packaging Subgroup, participation in the final event with stakeholders, and a visit to the recycling center
• Creating and promoting recommendations

Through fieldwork and cooperation with the Public Utility Company "Higijena" Pančevo, based on previously established communication with representatives of the informal recyclable material collectors sector, interested informal collectors have been invited to participate in this pilot project. This will provide them with more information about the changes that could be brought about by the introduction of a deposit return system for packaging waste, with a focus on understanding the needs and benefits for collectors, as well as the potential for integrating the informal sector into the formal waste management system alongside the possible introduction of the deposit return system.