During the campaign "Oplaneti se! Recycle!" (Planet yourself (up)) on the 31st of January an ecofectival was held in Serbia in Novi Sad, after similar events in Belgrade and Nis. This campaign was implemented throughout the year by local NGOs in primary and high schools of 12 towns in Serbia. Festival visitors were able to see creative corner with objects made from waste, a maze with scenes of waste treatment in Serbia, recycling cube of scrap metal, objects of recycled metal and a large number of items from recycled waste.

Children's choir opened the festival with environmental songs after what recycling animators had their performance, in which they descibed how much waste we leave behind us. Also, visitors had the opportunity to participate in making items from waste at creative recycling corner, which looked like a living room area, with a support of young artists of Modelart school.
The aim of this event was to promote campaign „Oplaneti se! Recycle!", to draw attention and rise awareness among people about upcycling. It is important to mention that representatives of the local government and citizens' associations were present there as well. At the end of the festival round table discussion was held where they could hear the problems that citizens, companies and other actors in the field of waste management are facing nowadays, so everybody proposed solutions how to increase recycling and reuse of waste.
This campaign was organized by the informal network of environmental NGOs Green List of Serbia, Young Researchers of Serbia with co-operation of Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Tijana Ljubenovic
Young Researchers of Serbia (YRS)