Across the Western Balkans, the transition to a circular economy is slowly taking shape through a diverse range of initiatives—some led by local governments, others by civil society, businesses, or international donors. While challenges like political instability, weak infrastructure, and limited public awareness persist, concrete efforts are emerging to promote sustainable waste management, resource efficiency, and community-based innovation. These short articles highlight examples from each country in the region, showcasing early steps toward circular practices that hold the potential to inspire broader transformation. We also invite our audience to share stories and information about other good examples they know of.
In Serbia, one of the more promising directions within circular economy efforts has emerged in the field of sustainable packaging and industrial waste reduction, especially through private sector innovation. Several companies and startups are leading efforts to introduce circular design into production processes—focusing on recyclable materials, extended product lifecycles, and returnable packaging systems.
A key example is the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) model promoted through the Recycling Industry Association of Serbia and aligned with Serbia’s National Waste Management Strategy. According to the OECD country profile on Serbia, packaging waste reform has been central to aligning with EU directives. EPR obligations have encouraged producers to rethink material flows and invest in recycling networks.
In the town of Indjija, the JUBMES eco-industrial park hosts several companies that reuse industrial by-products in other production chains, demonstrating circularity on a larger scale. Similarly, circular packaging systems in sectors like food and beverages have started gaining traction, especially in collaboration with EU-funded pilot projects.
Outside the industrial zone, smaller initiatives—often unsupported by the state—are paving the way for bottom-up change. One such example is Startit Recycle, a Belgrade-based civic tech initiative experimenting with electronic waste collection and awareness-building among youth and urban professionals. Although still limited in scale, such actions contribute to a growing culture of circularity in Serbia’s cities.
Despite overall low recycling rates (below 10% according to recent Eurostat data), these developments show that innovation, when combined with regulatory pressure and public engagement, can set foundations for circular economy models adapted to local industry and consumer patterns.
Prepared by the GreenCIVIL team, with AI-supported research and editing (ChatGPT/OpenAI), under the LogEx network initiative
This content is part of the GREEN Civil project “Give Me Five!”, within the framework of the Western Balkans Circular Economy Week (May 26- June 1, 2025) under the motto “From Local Fixes to Regional Impact”.
The initiative is implemented by the LogEx regional network, of which CIVIL is a member. The network was launched by the reputable think tank organization Balkan Forum from Kosovo, and with the support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund from the United States.
