The mayors of the municipalities Aerodrom, Butel, Gazi Baba and Kisela Voda signed a Memorandum for Cooperation with the social enterprise “REDI-Reciklazha” (REDI-Recycling) which has been dealing with primary waste selection from residential property in Skopje for more than a year. Memoranda for cooperation were signed within the framework of the Second International “REDI Summit” which took place on Wednesday and Thursday in Skopje.
The Mayor of Aerodrom, Timcho Mucunski, signed the Memorandum for Cooperation, thereby accepting the obligation for the Municipality of Aerodrom to initiate a primary selection system of non-hazardous waste and public awareness raising for waste selection.
“Such a successful concept of a social enterprise deserves commendation and support since it increases the standard of living and the predicament of the non-formal waste collectors, but also improves the environment in Macedonia. Social enterprises present an excellent tool for the inclusion of the non-formal sector within the waste management system. Hence, the Municipality of Aerodrom will continue to support this concept, while today’s signing of the Memorandum is yet another proof of that”, stressed Mayor Mucunski.
Also, the Mayor of Kisela Voda, Orce Gorgievski, signed the Memorandum for Cooperation aiming at the establishment of a primary selection system of non-hazardous waste and raising public awareness on waste selection in the Municipality Kisela Voda.
The Municipality of Kisela Voda reported that prior to initiating primary waste selection in Kisela Voda, training, technical assistance, stakeholder mapping for participation in the project will be available. At the same time, by organizing educational campaigns, the awareness of the whole population will be raised.
On Wednesday, the Mayor of Gazi Baba, Boban Stefkovski, also signed a Memorandum for Cooperation thereby committing the municipality to initiate a primary selection system of non-hazardous waste and public awareness raising for
waste selection.
On Wednesday, the Mayor of Municipality Butel, Darko Kostovski, also signed a Memorandum for Cooperation with REDI-Recycling thereby enabling the expansion of the primary selection system of non-hazardous waste on the territory of this Skopje municipality.
On the agenda of the REDI Summit were issues related to the socio-economic inclusion of non-formal waste-collectors in the country as well as Western Balkan’s Green Agenda and the energy price increase were discussed.
The REDI Summit consisted of panel-discussions on creating the perfect environment for acquiring skills and identifying new and innovative approaches for promoting inclusion of Romani people.
On the second day of REDI Summit, three important topics werel be discussed: Digital transformation of Romani businesses, touching upon the significance of such a transformation for the livelihood of Romani businesses, especially in the conditions left behind by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A special panel addressed the need to allocate public funds in the form of grants and guarantees for securing working posts for vulnerable communities, while the last panel covered the topic of alternative funds for financial inclusion i.e., how Romani entrepreneurs can access alternative solutions for sustaining their businesses, apart from the quick fix loans.
РЕДИ Рециклажа на терен, почна селекцијата на отпадот во дел од зградите низ Скопје
REDI-Recycling became operational last November and approximately 200 residential buildings in Karpos, Aerodrom and other municipalities applied on the Call for Establishing Wastepaper and Plastic Selection System. Interested parties received bins for waste selection (plastic and paper), including a regular waste collection with environmentally-friendly vehicles – electric tricycles by formalized collectors employed by the social enterprise.