Recently, a new electric vehicle has been cruising the streets of Novi Pazar that collects waste from textiles and jeans, which is then processed in the Recycling Center managed by the Public Utility Company Gradska čistoća.
This van was purchased as part of the project “Improvement of recycling waste management in the territory of the city of Novi Pazar” worth over half a million euros, of which slightly more than 371,000 euros were provided through the EU Pro+ program . The rest are local self-government funds.
“The vehicle serves us to go around the field and collect waste material in smaller quantities or where we cannot approach with large trucks. We insisted that it be an electric vehicle in order to reduce pollution and to set an example for citizens and city officials that this type of vehicle is very suitable for performing various tasks. Our wish is that, in addition to collection and recycling, we also deal with environmental protection and raising environmental awareness,” says Faruk Suljević , director of PUK City Cleanliness.
The textile clothing manufacturers in Novi Pazar will benefit from the new vehicle, as well as from the work of the recycling center in general, in addition to the recycling of standard waste, adds Suljević.
“They cannot get permits to export their products if they do not have documents about what they did with their waste. It is known that there is waste in textiles and that it must be handed over to an authorized operator,” he explains.
In addition to this vehicle, as part of the project, a new specialized truck with a pressure press was purchased, the capacity of the recycling center was significantly expanded, and a much stronger, automatic press was acquired, which doubled the speed and quality of processing delivered waste.
“The press was the most important and individually the most valuable purchase of equipment, close to 160,000 euros. We also asked the Center so that we could install it. The press has now doubled the speed of work, and has the possibility to triple it,” adds Suljević.
The recycling center in Novi Pazar, established in 2014, currently processes around 820 tons of waste, of which over 70 percent is cardboard and paper, and the plan is that by the end of 2026, that amount will exceed 1,000 tons.
The School of Textile and Leather Design also received valuable equipment as part of this project, and numerous workshops were organized for children, from preschoolers to high school students, where recycling was promoted.
In cooperation with colleagues from Mojkovac, from the north of Montenegro, Novi Pazar City Cleanliness implemented the cross-border project “BEST Cooperation in Waste Management – Towards a Sustainable Environment” worth close to 320,000 euros.
“Novi Pazar received about 62,000 euros, which, among other things, we used for the purchase of 1,500 bins for the primary selection of waste and the purchase of a specialized vehicle for transporting glass,” says Suad Ljajić , executive director and project manager from City Cleanliness.
The creation of missing policies and strategic documents represents the “added value” of such projects. Novi Pazar thus received the Glass Management Action Plan. In the implementation of this project, the Municipality of Tutin was also involved from Serbia, which received a road map of the circular economy.