Ekopak today officially became  the 32nd member of the umbrella organisation for European packaging and packaging waste recovery and recycling schemes, PRO EUROPE. The contract-signing ceremony between Ursula Denison, Managing Director at PRO EUROPE and Amela Hrbat, Managing Director at EKOPAK  was held in Sarajevo.

“For EKOPAK, joining the PRO EUROPE family is a big and exciting step, and we look forward to working in collaboration with our "Green Dot" partner organisations, to use their expertise in order to reach our objectives in setting up and optimizing an effective system for packaging recovery in line with the national goals of the Ministry for the environment of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina” said Amela Hrbat, Managing Director at EKOPAK. “Being able to promote and license the 'Green Dot' as a financing symbol for our packaging recovery organization will help us to increase the effectiveness of our system, and connect with consumers in the effort of separate collection and recycling.” 

Ursula Denison, Managing Director PRO EUROPE, welcomes EKOPAK into the Extended Producer Responsibility network. “PRO EUROPE continues to grow as a platform for packaging recovery organizations using the 'Green Dot' trademark as a financing symbol for their operations. The 'Green Dot' creates a unique connection between companies who use the logo on their packaging and contribute to financing the system, the consumers who separate their packaging, and the 'Green Dot' Packaging Recovery organisations responsible for organizing the recovery and recycling. We are looking forward to cooperating with EKOPAK in strengthening the 'Green Dot' concept of producer responsibility.”

Mehmed Cero, Advisor to the Minister of the Environment and Tourism of Federation BiH, welcomed EKOPAK/s membership to the PRO EUROPE family and emphasized that the "Green Dot" will identify the responsible producers as the ones who joined the system of recovery and recycling of packaging waste. “We have set the target to collect and recycle 35% of all waste by 2016 and thus, to keep it away from landfills.” 

Senad Oprašić, Head of Environmental Department at the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH, stressed out that Ekopak membership in PRO EUROPE is a very important step for BiH in the EU integration process and accession negotiation.

With the membership in PRO EUROPE, Ekopak has become authorized licencor of the „Green Dot“ trademark, and all its clinets will now be granted the use of the symbol on their packaging. 

PRO EUROPE and Green Dot - facts and figures:

- 31 member organisations active in 31 countries.

- ‘Green Dot’ is the most widely used trademark in the world, registered and protected in more than 170 countries

- About 170,000 companies are contributing licensees/members of PRO EUROPE member systems.

- About 460 billion packaging items are yearly labeled with the ‘Green Dot’, a registered trademark in more than 170 countries

- About 300 million inhabitants have access to separate collection financed by PRO EUROPE member systems.