“The idea to implement the green agenda, that is, circular economy, in the Roma community, came quite by chance, namely, it was born in 2019, when coming home from a conference where they talked about how to transform education, education towards employment and how to support the Roma community in economic development, driving uphill in Shuto Orizari, I came across an elderly woman carrying a huge bag with plastic bottles and cardboards in a makeshift cart”, Director of REDI Recycling, Asib Zekir, started the story in the interview with GREEN Civil.
Zekir explained that the woman inspired and motivated him to create REDI as a social and self-sustaining company.
“I stopped to ask her if she needed help, she replied ‘it’s fine, thank you, I am used to doing this’. I was surprised and didn’t know how to act, because a few hours ago I had been talking about the economic development of the community, and on the other hand, precisely those who need help are left on their own. That is to say, they weren’t expecting help and support either from the civil society sector or the institutions. That was my motivation to develop the idea, for it to be self-sustainable and for the work being done by informal waste collectors to be recognized and visible … That’s how REDI Recycling was born, from an idea it became a social enterprise, says Zekir.
He adds that they collect selected non-hazardous waste (plastic bottles, cardboard, paper…) from around 400 buildings (residential and commercial), and then transport them with electric tricycles to recycling depots.
The Director of REDI stresses that institutions and local governments should support such initiatives and social enterprises in order to strive for self-sustainability. Because if there is no self-sustainability, any initiative is dependent on a series of projects and investments, in the short-term it could function, but in the long run, without subsidization and without institutional support, such initiatives will not be able to survive in the long term.
Zekir points out that the citizens in Skopje are satisfied with the work of REDI Recycling and in the coming period plans to expand this initiative outside the country.
Dehran Muratov
camera, photography and editing: Arian Mehmeti
Translated by: N. Cvetkovska
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.
