At the ecology fair and about wastewater treatment

The 18th International Energy Fair and the 19th International Fair of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources – EcoFair were opened in Belgrade. self-governments, utility companies, waste generators, professional public. The aim of Ecofair is to raise awareness of the importance of environmental protection, promote sustainability and provide a platform for the exchange of ideas, information and innovation related to environmental issues.

Ecofair also proved to be an excellent platform for connecting various actors in the field of environmental protection, such as non-governmental organizations, institutions, companies, activists and experts. This is an opportunity for the public to become familiar with the work and initiatives of organizations dealing with ecology and to encourage the engagement of citizens in environmental protection.

Finally, the emphasis of this manifestation is on the financing and management of projects in the sector of environmental protection, investment projects and waste management, purification and management of waste water, industrial safety and domestic legislation related to this issue. The essence of the complete agenda of this fair event is the ultimate demand and promotion of environmentally friendly behavior as a way of life.

The fair lasts until November 30, and an important place is the aspect of wastewater treatment throughout Serbia, which is one of the tasks of the “Clean Serbia” project, the implementation of which foresees the construction of 165 treatment plants.

Media praise for project „Clean Serbia“

The national media reports that the implementation of the “Clean Serbia” project will address decades-long problems of wastewater treatment and drainage.

The media also mentions the fact that works are also being carried out in Novi Sad as part of this project.
“Novi Sad is among 14 local governments that are included in this program, which is of great importance in environmental protection. The project provided significant financial resources, which will be invested in the construction of the Central City Wastewater Purifier, in addition to the controlled removal of waste water. This is how the decades-long problem of wastewater treatment and river pollution will finally be addressed,” the national media wrote.
In several newspaper articles it is stated, among other things, that as one of the most beautiful symbols of Novi Sad, thanks to such an important project, the Danube river will finally receive only processed and clean waste water in its bed.
In this way, a healthier environment will be provided for new generations, and the banks of the Danube will become an even more beautiful and pleasant place for visitors, who enjoy spending time by the shores of their favorite river.

Sewage network along with road to the Mileseva monastery

While visiting the  reconsturction site of the road to the Mileseva monastery, the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Goran Vesic, pointed out that the government will find a way to connect the houses located on the right bank of the Milesevka river, in Tomovo naselje, to the sewage network in order to receive the municipal water.

“Through the road reconstruction project to the Mileseva monastery, for which we allocated almost 600 million dinars, in the second phase we will also build part of the fecal collector, then the water pipes, and we will use the opportunity while we are already building the road to do everything, so that the residents of this part of Prijepolje will after fifty years, through this project and the ‘ Clean Serbia‘ project, have this issue resolved” Vesic said.

Serbia was one of the first to testing innovative technology

While Serbia is still deciding how to improve the collection of packaging waste, the testing of the first innovative technology, which accepts all types of materials at the same time – from PET plastic and cans, through glass to Tetra Pak packaging, has been completed in Zrenjanin. The entire recycling process is more efficient and reliable than with ordinary recycling machines, due to the advanced digital system and packaging pressing inside the device, which brings great savings in time and money.

Many developed countries, such as Belgium and Great Britain, are in the process of considering the same or similar solutions, and our country had the opportunity to be one of the first to test it, thanks to the “Smart Recycle” project, which was implemented through the develo PPP program of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs cooperation and development (BMZ), which are jointly conducted by GIZ, Ball Packaging, Sekopak, Solagro Smart Recycling, Mercator-S and Reverse Logistics Group (RLG), in cooperation with NALED and the “Every Can Counts” program.

During the piloting of the project, consumers in Zrenjanin could return used packaging at 12 locations in the city, and through a special mobile phone application, they collected points for discounts on future purchases and other prizes that were awarded every month.

– Thanks to the partnership with the private sector, we were able to test and familiarize ourselves with the application of technology that many countries are already talking about and see what they can bring. I believe that the lessons learned will be used for the further development of the system at the national and international level – said Zoran Jakovljev, adviser at GIZ, at the final conference of the project, where the key results were presented.

Slobodan Krstović, director of sustainable development at NALED, pointed out that Serbia now has the opportunity to be a pioneer in modern packaging management, and the examples of developed European countries show that they are all moving in that direction.

– It is very important to raise the awareness of citizens about the importance of primary selection and recycling of waste. For six years, there has been talk of launching a new system, several studies and pilot projects have been carried out, of which this one is by far the most important, as it connects digitization and sustainable development. Digital systems are more transparent, which was shown in all the solutions advocated by NALED, such as electronic construction permits, the system for registering seasonal workers in agriculture, eInvoices and many others, and this is the message we will convey to decision makers – said Krstović.

According to Jelena Petljanski, manager of sustainability and regulatory affairs at Ball Packaging Europe, what makes this system unique is its advanced IT solution, which relies on serialization, that is, on a unique code for each unit of packaging, which ensures greater efficiency and transparency in to the recycling process.

– For the purposes of the project, a million codes were printed and manually added as a sticker, otherwise it could be an original part of the packaging, which still needs to be worked on, in order to improve the marking mechanisms and explore methods for automating this process – said Petljanski.

This code provides a lot of data – what is the life of the packaging, which materials are more or less recycled, where they end up and can be very useful for building a more efficient waste management system.

During the piloting of the “Smart Recycle” project, the director of Sekopak, Violeta Belanović, said that they cooperated with a large number of private partners, such as Coca-Cola HBC, Carlsberg, Tetra Pak, Red Bull and Knjaz Miloš. More than 40 brands of these companies were included in the smart collection system, and citizens who wanted to recycle and other packaging waste could put it in the bins for collection that was located next to the machines.

– As a packaging waste operator, it is crucial for Sekopak to examine how citizens react to different ways of separating packaging waste. Cooperation with the local self-government proved to be very important for the collection of larger quantities, and the promotional campaign and education of citizens are necessary – concluded Belanović.

Minister Vesić: Vranje is an example of good practice

As part of the “Clean Serbia” project, a total of 141 kilometers of sewage will be built on the territory of Vranje, said the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Goran Vesić, and stated that the wastewater treatment plant in Vranje is an example of what all such facilities in Serbia will look like.

In Vranje, Vesić visited the sewage works in the village of Donje Trebešinje and the wastewater treatment plant in the Ćukovac settlement, and on that occasion said that Vranje is one of the few cities in Serbia with a fully operational wastewater treatment plant.

“Not only is it in operation, but here there is a fully rounded system that ends with the production of electricity and the complete processing of waste water that goes to South Morava in its pure form. The electricity they produce from biogas covers 50 percent of their electricity consumption that way, and now we will help them install solar panels so that they can be completely self-sustaining,” said Vesić.

He stated that this facility is an example of what all wastewater treatment facilities in Serbia will look like.

Vesić said that complete sewerage, 141 kilometers of sewerage, will be completed in Vranje in two years at the latest, and that in the meantime the Vranjska Banja will also begin, and that when it is completed, Vranje will be a city where all waste water will be completely processed and returned to nature in its pure form.

He pointed out that Vranje is an example of how the state and city can work together and how all municipalities and cities in Serbia will look like in the next ten years because, he added, they will all have to process wastewater in the same way.

Minister Vesić: From may the third phase of the project in Vlasotinac

The Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Goran Vesić, speaking about numerous projects in the Municipality of Vlasotince, expressed the expectation that from May or June 2024, the third phase of the “Clean Serbia” project will begin in this Municipality.

According to Minister Vesić, the aforementioned municipality has project documentation ready, which is a prerequisite for the realization of any project.

When it comes to sewerage, he reminded that the second phase of the “Clean Serbia” project has begun, within which a total of 3.5 billion euros have been secured so that 2.2 million people in Serbia will receive sewage.

“I expect that from May or June we will start the third phase of that project, in which Vlasotince has a good chance to enter, given that it has projects. After that, they will have a wastewater treatment plant and about 80 kilometers of sewerage, which means that around 95 percent of the municipality would be covered by sewerage,” said the minister.

Vesic.

The president of the municipality of Vlasotince, Bratislav Petrović, thanked Vesić for his support and added that he hopes that, with the help of the relevant ministry, they will be able to implement numerous infrastructure projects.

photo: mgsi

Liman 2: Change of traffic ways in Novi Sad

Due to the works on the construction of the sewage network at Liman 2, a decision was made to temporarily ban traffic on Dragiše Brašovana Street in Novi Sad, as well as at the intersection of Dragiše Brašovan and Resavska streets.

The decision of the Assembly of the City of Novi Sad entered into force today, and the change in the traffic regime will last until December 15 of the current year.

Works on the construction of the sewage network are carried out as part of the “Clean Serbia” project.

Krkić: With the “Clean Serbia” project, we are protecting the environment

Among the significant infrastructure projects in the Municipality of Ćićevac is the “Clean Serbia” project. The President of the Municipality of Ćićevac, Dr. Mirjana Krkić, pointed out that this project is also relevant from the aspect of environmental protection.

“With these projects, we wanted to improve the environment and provide the best possible conditions for our citizens,” said Dr. Krkić.

The municipality of Ćićevac signed an annex to the contract with the director of the Chinese “CRBC” company and the Ministry of Construction, Transport and of infrastructure, which begins the second phase of the “Clean Serbia” project, and includes the construction of a sewage network and a wastewater treatment plant.

72 kilometers of sewage network in the territory of Svilajnac

On the occasion of the implementation of the “Clean Serbia” project, a meeting of the municipal management with partners from the Chinese company CRBC and the Republic of Serbia was held in the municipality of Svilajnac. The “Clean Serbia” project includes the construction of about 72 kilometers of sewage network on the territory of the municipality of Svilajnac.

The contract for the first phase of works within this national ecological project was signed in May of this year, and it foresees the construction of a sewage network in the villages of Kušiljevo, Troponje, Subotica and Sedlare. The value of the works is around 30 million euros.

“So far, we have done major preparatory work, and we have agreed with the contractors that all the teams will be on the field by November 15. Sewerage in all four villages will be done simultaneously. This project will improve the quality of life of people, but also the protection of the environment,” said the president of Svilajnac Predrag Milanović and added that this is the biggest project in the field of infrastructure in the history of Svilajnac.

One also announced the second phase of this project, which would include the villages of Grabovac, Crkvenac, Dublje, part of Svilajnec and the construction of a wastewater treatment plant. When the entire project is finished, about 70 percent of the citizens of the municipality of Svilajnac will have regulated sewage.

The “Clean Serbia” example of investment in rural infrastructure

The President of the Provisional Authority of the City of Vranje, Dr. Slobodan Milenković, cited the “Clean Serbia” project as an example of investment in the development of the village and its infrastructure.

Milenković signed contracts on the allocation of donations within the project “Empowerment of young farmers in Vranje in 2023” and on that occasion he emphasized the constant efforts and aspirations of the city leadership to improve life in the countryside through various activities and projects and contribute to the youth staying in the countryside.

“According to the initiative of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, who initiated the “Clean Serbia” project for the improvement of communal infrastructure in rural areas, which is implemented throughout of Serbia, our goal has always been to motivate young people to immediately get involved in agricultural production and build their future in the countryside,” said Milenković.