The Czech Association of Circular Economy brings together civic associations and corporations that are actively engaged in the issue of saving primary sources of raw materials and reducing the negative impact of unused waste on the environment. In the Czech Republic, this topic is highly debated and the Czechs are among the best in Europe in waste management. A lot of credit for this goes to Ing. Zbyněk Kozel, CEO of EKO-KOM, who has been dedicated to this task for almost a quarter of a century. When we were given the opportunity to nominate a personality for the medal of the Minister of Industry and Trade who has contributed to modern waste management, Ing. Zbyněk Kozel, a member of the association's executive committee, was an obvious choice. And we are very pleased that he has been recognised in this way for his enormous commitment and very good results. Today, colourful containers for the separate collection of a wide range of waste types are an inseparable part of the colour of almost all 6,200 municipalities in the Czech Republic. Their number is over 550 000.
This is also thanks to EKO-KOM, which has been successfully managed since its foundation by Ing. Zbyněk Kozel. And compared to authorised packaging companies in other EU countries, EKO-KOM AOS achieves quality results using very efficient solutions in the field of separate collection of packaging waste. However, Zbyněk Kozel always emphasised that the success is mainly due to the mayors and councillors of more than two thousand municipalities, who in the beginning, with the financial support of five hundred companies, voluntarily built the foundations of the Czech sorting system. Within the EU Member States, the Czech Republic is considered a leading country in terms of the quality of the waste collection network and the level of participation of the population in waste sorting. This success was and is also due to the long-term emphasis on nationwide awareness-raising and educational activities, which the company supports for all age groups, starting with schools of all levels. At the same time, it uses the funds raised from its clients who produce and/or market goods in packaging in the Czech Republic to finance the collection, sorting and subsequent recovery of packaging waste in accordance with the Ministry of the Environment and the Packaging Act. At the same time, it financially ensures the mitigation of price fluctuations of secondary raw materials, often caused by external influences.
Mr. Zbyněk Kozel, with his erudition and detailed knowledge of material (and thus financial) flows, is a personality who guarantees that the Czech Republic will choose the most effective paths for our conditions on its way to a circular economy. As a top manager, he knows what effect can be expected from this or that proposed measure and knows how to motivate his team for maximum performance.
Two words in conclusion: a practical visionary.
