RECYCLING IS OUR CHANCE

VUJADIN ŠĆEKIĆ, DIRECTOR OF JUGOIMPEX D.O.O. NIŠ

Recycling Is Our Chance

Jugoimpex d.o.o., from the city of Niš, is one of our country's leading companies when it comes to the bulk collection and processing of raw materials, and the recycling of electrical and electronic waste. After commemorating 30 years of successful operations recently, it is entering its 4th decade with great optimism and major plans

The pandemic showed us how vul- know that our goal shouldn’t be to open an EU from good will and the vision to create 30,000 nerable we all are individually, how accession negotiation chapter and work on it in new jobs, we also need a realistic and positive difficult it is to function and do busi- an administrative sense, rather to implement investment climate. That would contribute to ness when borders are closed, and that chapter in all segments of the state and products from ecological processes having how important it is to develop one’s own society, for those principles to be accepted by a priority and an advantage on the domestic potential. I hope for the strengthening of our everyone, from the economy and citizens, to market, to be marked with a “green apple” or economy, because only a strong economy can the government and administration. some other label that shows that they were handle strong blows, says Jugoimpex Diector created in a process that preserved our natural Vujadin Šćekić Could you explain the concept of the circular resources and reduced imports of raw materieconomy to us? How do you assess NALED’s als. Such products and manufacturers should How would you evaluate the situation in the estimate that 30,000 new jobs could be have an advantage and a better position, both domain of collecting, processing and recycling created in Serbia by 2023 on the basis of on shelves and in tenders. waste? Is Serbia advancing in this area? the circular economy? A special problem in our country is rep- Although the situation isn’t great, I must - The essence of the circular economy is find- resented by industrial and other waste colmention that things are slowly changing for ing and giving added value to raw materials lected in the recycling process that we have the better. In this phase, the education of that we previously considered waste. So, to export because we don’t have sufficient society as a whole is better, with understand- everything that is classed as waste should be processing capacities. This represents aning of the importance of what we other great potential that could be are dealing with growing from year to year, and thus along with it the understanding of the importance of environmental efforts. We are We export industrial and other waste collected in the recycling process because we don’t have sufficient processing capacities realized if we had a good investment climate. How much does your memberseeing growth of the number of ship in the American Chamber products made from recycled raw materials separated, recycled and prepared to be part of Commerce mean to you? on the market, but there is also growing aware- of the raw materials that can be processed to - We are proud of the fact that our company ness that our entire society has an obligation create a product for the market. That product is a member of the chamber of the world’s to implement quality technologies as much should have the same quality as a product strongest economy, because that says a lot as possible, and to recycle them. made from primary raw materials. about us. They do a lot of work to improve

In that sense, we are slowly moving closer The potentials are extremely high, and conditions for doing business in Serbia, and to Europe, both in terms of quantities and when it comes to the number of potential new to support their members. This membership in terms of the quality of recycling. I’m an jobs I’m more optimistic than NALED. However, is important to us because of the exchanges optimist, so I believe that we will approach none of that can be implemented without a of experience, because of contacts and posrecycling and the obligation to recycle with system that’s regulated regarding the use of sibilities to cooperate with the best, and to greater understanding in the period ahead. You products from the circular economy. Apart learn from the biggest and the best.