DS Smith partners Serbian UN programme for Sustainable Lifestyles and Education

Our Recycling Division in Serbia is partnering with a United Nations affiliated project to promote sustainable resource management.

The NGO (non-governmental organisation) DOM ANLI organisation in Serbia will work with our Serbian recycling Division for two years on the Sustainable Lifestyle and Education project, from the beginning of this month. It aims to provide leadership and encouragement to citizens looking to care for their environment.

Recycling Division in Serbia, DS Smith Inos Papir Servis d.o.o., has previously had a strong relationship with the project, created in June 2012. It is part of a global framework of action to accelerate the shift towards more sustainable production and consumption in both developed and developing countries.

The project is also very unique in the way it is managed by citizens of Belgrade, with tenants, Assemblies and Student & Pupils Parliaments getting involved in the sustainability programmes.

Serbian General Manager, Dragan Pavičević, said:

“This is an amazing project and a great opportunity for DS Smith to help promote sustainable initiatives across Serbia.

“The real value of this project is not in the materials we receive but getting out into our communities and supporting them to handle their waste in a more sustainable way.”

Our Serbian business will receive at least 60 tonnes of paper and cardboard, two tonnes of metal cans and 15 tonnes of plastic per month as part of the initiative. The company will provide 2,000 cardboard recycling boxes and 10,000 replaceable plastic bags, used for the collection of packaging waste. The materials collected will be recycled via our Recycling Division in Serbia.

Tim Price, Recycling Division’s Marketing Director, said:

“This partnership is in keeping with our marketing strategy to align ourselves with stakeholder partnerships that can have a real effect on the ability to recover high quality streams of recycling. It is also a perfect channel to help build the DS Smith brand in Serbia as we look to grow market share within the region.”

Dragan Pavičević added: “The sustainable lifestyle and education programme is committed to the collection of high quality packaging waste, such as paper, cardboard, plastic and metal cans, and ties in with our own principles to collect the highest quality materials for reprocessing.

“The project also gives us an opportunity to engage with different organisations, advance our reputation, and raise brand awareness in Serbia with our target audience, as well as doing something good for our society. Overall we are very exciting about the project and are looking forward to getting started.”