THE INTERVIEWS

Spain: Of course, but bearing in mind that reducing is the first step.

Serbia: So recycling is beneficial for our environment because recycling creates a product that is reused. So it's a roundabout. Today we are packing a product in a cardboard box. That cardboard box can be recycled, thus creating cardboard again.

Spain: There are other options like reusing or refilling bottles or containers.

Serbia: Currently it's the best we can do, however the best course of action for waste management would be to simply reduce how much material we waste. 

Spain: Composting is the recycling of the organic material to make soil good for the plants to grow. It is good for the environment beacuse it reduces waste at the same time you help plants to grow without chemicals.

Serbia: It is a kind of organic recycling. All food, banana peels, bread, all of which can be made into mineral fertilizers. As far as I am aware, composting is not done in Kraljevo. That composting is a little harder because I guess people don't have the conditions for that. By decomposing waste, another layer can be created that is useful and does not end up in the landfill, and again in that way, we protect the environment.

Spain: Yes, there are some items that can not be recycled so we shouldn't mix them with the ones that can be recycled.

Serbia: Well it is known, municipal waste, say, electronic waste. So, everything that cannot be recycled, as a rule, should not be there. They have places that are provided for that.

Spain: It helps but we need education about other issues such as reducing the consumption of products whose packaging can't be recycled, reusing, using renewable energy, transports that don't pollute, etc.


Serbia: : Waste sorting can affect consciousness because it teaches oneself and teaches others how to protect the environment.

Spain: Yes, it does.

Serbia: It exists in households and public places. You have seen the ones that are set for glass, JKP Čistoća (Public Municipal Enterprise Čistoća) also started recycling with us in the suburbs, but that is still not developed enough.

Spain: The best option is reusable bags.

Serbia: Naturally, either paper or reusable bags.

Spain: Plastic never. Glass is a good option. Steel also can be good since it is thermal so you can keep your liquid hot or cold.

Serbia: Plastic is one of the worst pollutants. If it were up to me, I would totally cease using plastic in any way.
About aluminium, I worked with them a little less, but I guess they are much better and healthier compared to plastic. As far as recycling is concerned, they can also be recycled, in principle, the use of ore minerals is reduced and then more resources remain for other things.

Spain: Hundreds of years.

Serbia: In general, plastic takes the most time, others need much less.

Spain: Avoiding its consumption so companies find other materials to make their products.

Serbia: First of all, nothing should be thrown into the water because it is very dangerous and harmful, only we are still not aware of it.

Spain: Reuse, refill, repair, separate our waste, buy products without packaging or don't buy products that don't have an eco design, don't eat so much meat…

Serbia: the greater the recycling, the greater the awareness of the people. We must be aware of the impact that our contribution has, when we look at it all, it will have a big impact on the preservation of the environment. We have one planet, we don't have another to live on, and if we don't start taking care of it, and I think we're already quite late, I don't know what will happen. It will be very dangerous.

Spain: We are in a critical situation, there is no time to repair what we have been doing for years. The air pollution is a problem, the water pollution, the microplastics, the loss of the biodiversity…

Serbia: Climate change is a big and serious problem and it is talked about and heard on television every day. There is talk about it, the point is that, in my opinion, very little is being done on that problem. So that is already a question for some larger structures or organizations.

Spain: Politicians are the ones who have the power to decide. So we need to vote the matches that care about the environment.

Serbia: Well, there are a growing number of people, companies that deal with that waste management. We try to take over as much recyclable material as possible in every possible way and send it to the places where recycling takes place. We recycle cardboard here, it goes to Umka, a new product goes from Umka again. For example, glass is taken to Croatia and packaging glass is made there. We try to collect as much material as possible and ship it to factories that perform this type of recycling. In that way, we are extending the life of the landfill, because our landfill in Kraljevo is overbooked. People no longer have a place to stack waste. Here, look at this amount of waste, it's all from the landfill. Imagine if it all ended up in a landfill every day, a little more landfill would come to the city center. So it is to increase the awareness of citizens, to recycle as much as possible, they must first know what is recycled and what is not. So, set up as many of those bins or equipment as possible where it will be recycled. Here, I just talked to people about cleanliness, people set up bins for recycling material. The citizens kicked that ... What can we say next, how do you think we can do something with such an attitude and such thinking.

Spain: From the school. Education is essential. Aware children are the best ambassadors for their families and for the rest of the people. 

Serbia: Well, most of all, in my opinion, we should start from the fact that every individual is important and we should have someone who will manage the whole process, I guess it is the state that should give some orders, that should animate the population. According to the schools, to deal with that education, and to start with those educations from an early age, because when we started high school, we didn't do anything. That these younger generations grow up and that they would already have an developed consciousness. I talk to people there in Switzerland, abroad. They know that, they have bins where everything is stored and it is known. I just asked if it happens that a person makes a mistake and the answer was no. It never occurs to anyone that now, let's say that there is no place in the cardboard bin and that now that cardboard is thrown in the glass bin. They strictly respect that, it is that developed awareness of what is not needed. We have a lot, a lot of work to do.