2025 EXPRA Balkan Workshop was Hosted by ÇEVKO Foundation
15 Oct 2025Latest Developments in Packaging Waste Management Were Evaluated in Istanbul
The annual Balkan Workshop of EXPRA (Extended Producer Responsibility Association), the Brussels-based international umbrella organization for industrial responsibility in packaging waste management, was held in Istanbul, hosted by the ÇEVKO Foundation. Representatives of other authorized recycling organizations in the Balkans and Europe evaluated the latest developments in their countries under the headings of Deposit Return Systems and Extended Producer Responsibility and decided to cooperate.
The regional Balkan meetings of recycling organizations that fulfill industrial responsibility for packaging waste, of which ÇEVKO Environmental Protection and Packaging Waste Evaluation Foundation was among the first organizers, started in 2012 and later continued as Balkan Workshops under the umbrella of EXPRA. EXPRA (Extended Producer Responsibility Association), which was launched in 2013 and includes 34 non-profit recycling organizations from 31 countries, 19 of which are EU members, is a Brussels-based international umbrella organization representing industrial responsibility in packaging waste management. ÇEVKO Foundation is among the founding members of EXPRA.
37 representatives from 14 countries attended the EXPRA Balkan Workshop, which was held in Istanbul this year, hosted by the ÇEVKO Foundation. At the event where ÇEVKO Foundation managers from Turkey participated, representatives of authorized recycling organizations from Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia, Greece, Southern Cyprus, Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia, Poland, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium shared their opinions. Participants evaluated the latest developments in the field of waste management in their countries under the headings of Deposit Return Systems and Extended Producer Responsibility (GÜS) and decided to cooperate.
ÇEVKO Foundation Secretary General Mete İmer: “We discussed the practices in different countries from a holistic perspective”
ÇEVKO Foundation Secretary General Mete İmer stated that a very important perspective was created for the future of packaging waste management at the EXPRA Balkan Workshop, which was held with a wide participation, and said, "The complex environmental and economic risks of today and the future require the use of holistic solutions with broad participation. Countries achieve very important gains in environmental, economic and social terms by collecting and recycling packaging waste separately at the source. There are different practices in different countries in this regard. EXPRA Balkan "In the workshop, we discussed the practices in different countries from a holistic perspective, we talked about how GÜS, deposit systems and public funds can work in a complementary hybrid structure and how an effective cooperation can be established between producers, retail points, municipalities and consumers," he said.
The Main Backbone of Waste Management Should Be SPP
In the morning session of the EXPRA Balkan Workshop, which was held in two main sessions: morning and afternoon, the performance and mechanisms of deposit systems in beverage packaging were examined in depth. In the examples given by participants from different countries, it was noted that one-way beverage packages made of plastic and metal are included in the mandatory deposit system, while glass bottles are not included.
In the afternoon session, the necessity of establishing the main backbone of waste management on SPP was once again confirmed. According to the picture revealed by examples from different countries, the deposit is applied to beverage packaging made of certain sizes and materials, which is a small cross-section of packaging waste in terms of volume, amount and weight, while GÜS constitutes an indispensable tool for managing a wide range of waste streams. At the meeting, how these two systems can work more effectively in a hybrid structure that complements each other; How to establish more effective cooperation between producers, retail points, municipalities and consumers was also discussed.
The Key to the Future: Hybrid Systems Based on Data and Transparency
The success stories of different countries presented at the EXPRA Balkan Workshop created a concrete basis for harmonizing practices and policies. Participants agreed on the necessity of traceable, verifiable and transparent models, supported by concrete, up-to-date and comparable data flow, based on clear calendars, covering all relevant stakeholders, for the success of waste management in the coming period.
ÇEVKO Foundation Secretary General Mete İmer: "We recommend thatGEKAP and GÜS be handled together in Turkey'"
Mete İmer, Secretary General of the ÇEVKO Foundation, stated that there has been a radical transformation in the field of waste management, as in every field, in the last 30 years: "30 years ago, wastes, especially those generated after consumption, were seen as scrap materials to be recycled if possible, or disposed of if not possible, in order to prevent environmental pollution; today, in the context of circular economy, they have become secondary raw materials, which should be considered as inputs to the industry and whose economic value comes to the fore.
The most effective method to increase recycling rates in packaging waste is to implement the Extended Producer Responsibility (GÜS) system, which our Foundation has pioneered in our country and is widely implemented in the world. Our Foundation, which has been carrying out voluntary SPP field studies with its stakeholders for the last five years, has developed a proposal to handle the Recovery Participation Share (GEKAP) and SPP together. Our recommendation is to re-establish and implement a traceable, verifiable and transparent GUS model; Within this system, it is possible to offset the relevant expenses of producers who document that they have fulfilled their financial obligations from GEKAP. "This proposal is a very strong example of the hybrid systems that were agreed upon at the EXPRA Balkan Workshop," he said.
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-webp.webp)
-Özetini-Yayınladı-webp.webp)
