Interview excerpt

The following text is an excerpt of a news article about DRA Group® ltd. and its manager Vladimir Dragović

Journalist: When was the company founded and what is its scope of activity?

Vladimir Dragović: DRA Group® ltd. is a company founded in 2007 which is active in the field of environment protection which entials, among other things, making waste management plans, feasibility studies and of course taking full responsibility for all waste that our clients entrust us for disposal. DRA Group® doo has permits for collecting, storing and transporting all EWC numbers of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes.

J: What is your perception of the situation in the Republic of Serbia in this branch of the economy?

VD: Our country is still in a state of transition from the old model of economic activity into the new, modern models in which the processes and technologies of this branch have reached a quite remarkable level of sophistication. Therefore, from that point of view it has to be said that we will have to make a considerable, necessary effort in order to catch up with the rest of the developed world given that we must make up for the lost ground. On the other hand, the examplary advance that Serbia has made in twinning its legislation with that of the EU and putting it into practice has to be noted. It also has to be mentioned that we are, by nature of our business, involved in putting into practice the legislation and that therefoe we tend to have a more negative view of it to what might be a realistic view, that is, we have negative perceptions of some of the regulations that we believe are not giving the results that they were implemented for.

J: How do you perform disposal of hazardous waste?

VD: Firstly we try and find a solution for waste disposal in the Republic of Serbia. However, since Serbia does not posses adequate capacities we are forced to export hazardous waste for disposal into the countries of the European Union. Our network of business partners abroad provides us with such conditions that enable us to be competitive on the market of the Republic of Serbia. The process of hazardous waste export itself is very complicated and expensive and it demands very long periods and experience. As an example, DRA Group® doo had last year successfully conculded the process of export for disposal of our clients' hazardous pharmaceutical waste.

J: What is meant by pharmaceutical waste?

VD: Generally speaking, pharmaceutical waste means medicine past its expiration date, for various reasons unusable medicines, as well as primary packaging in which the medicines were packaged. As the name itself says, the generators of these types of wastes are companies and health institutions manufacturers, mediators or users of pharmaceutical products.

J: What are your goals, or maybe what are your wishes in regard to environment protection in the future?

VD: A very good question. Naturally, I would want the company to continue to operate well and develop. In connection to enviornment protection, I believe that the primary goal that all of us should take into consideration very seriously is raising the awareness of our fellow citizens about the advantages of the proper relationship towards our environment. I am of the opinion that every idea has to be well argumented to the individual in order for him or her to consider it first of all, and then subsequently perhaps even adopt, especially if it is about something as important as our and our fellow citizens longterm health.