In February, it will be exactly five years since the modern drink packaging deposit system has been operating in Lithuania. The innovation that helps to protect nature and preserve the environment quickly caught on in our country and won the support of the population. During this time, the results of the refundable deposit system became one of the best in Europe, and delegations from various countries of the world came to Lithuania to gain experience and learn.
"So that nearly 3 businesses will start operating smoothly and conveniently throughout Lithuania." network of container collection points, the developers of the system had to actively cooperate with partners, listen to the needs, offers, and expectations of traders and consumers. The preparations were very consistent and thorough. We aimed for people to feel the desire to try the innovation, to be convinced of the benefits of the system and to contribute to a cleaner environment", remembers Gintaras Varnas, the head of the Public Institution "Užstato systemos administratorius" (USAD), which oversees the deposit system. He notices that residents are returning more and more single-use deposit packages every year and are reaching new records. In total, as much as 2,76 billion was returned in Lithuania in five years. of one-time deposit packages, which is an average of almost 990 packages per inhabitant of the country.
According to USAD, the majority (58 percent) of collected packaging consisted of PET plastic bottles, of which 1,6 billion were collected during the entire period. units or 54,1 thousand tons. Also, over 141 million was returned to taromats and other collection points. of glass bottles (38,5 thousand tons) and over 1,018 billion metal, mainly aluminum cans (17,3 thousand tons).
Energy saved: the journey of a million electric cars from Lithuania to Spain
According to G. Varna, the more disposable packaging returns to the deposit system and is recycled, the stronger the circular economy gets in Lithuania. Recycled packaging waste turns into high-quality secondary raw materials that can be used to make new packaging or other products. For example, glass and aluminum can be recycled an unlimited number of times, which saves a lot of energy and other natural resources, avoids higher CO2 emissions and eliminates the need to send this waste to landfills.
Scientists have calculated that one ton of recycled glass saves 42 kWh, one ton of recycled PET plastic saves 5774 kWh, and one ton of aluminum saves even 14 kWh. kWh of electricity. It is easy to calculate that all deposit packages collected in Lithuania over 5 years helped to save 554,6 GWh of electricity. Approximately 460 people consume this amount of electricity per year in Lithuania. would be And the electric-powered Volkswagen ID.2021, chosen as the "Lietuvos Metų automobili 3" could drive from Lithuania to Spain with that much energy. More precisely, this amount of energy would be enough to travel 3700 kilometers for even one million of these electric cars - they could fit all the inhabitants of Lithuania.
Lithuania has become an example for other countries
Residents who support the deposit system in Lithuania contributed to the reduction of CO2 no worse than electric car drivers. More than 110 thousand tons of collected PET plastic, glass and metal can waste were turned into secondary raw materials, which helped prevent over 260 thousand tons of CO2 compared to production from primary raw materials.
If all the returned single-use deposit packages had gone to the landfill, and not to taromats and other container collection places, Lithuania would have a huge 1,428 million euros today. a mountain of cubic meters of waste.
"Each conscious citizen, by delivering empty packaging to container collection points, contributed to preventing mountains of garbage from spreading around Lithuania, reducing environmental pollution, and saving a lot of electricity and other resources," G. Varnas, head of the non-profit organization USAD, summarizes the five-year results. , noting that the rate of collection and recycling of packaging participating in the deposit system constantly exceeds the tasks of packaging and packaging waste management for manufacturers and importers - more than 90 percent is collected in Lithuania. of all collateral packages placed on the market. In general, the result of our country is one of the best in Europe.
G. Varnas notices that the deposit system, as an extremely efficient solution for packaging management, has gradually become interested in more and more countries around the world. During the last five years, delegations from Australia, France, Scotland, China and other countries visited the USAD Computing Center in Vilnius.
Since its launch in Lithuania, USAD has been actively engaged in educational activities and always tries to be close to consumers, thus reminding them that it is worth returning the deposit packages. Therefore, over the past 5 years, the motto "It's worth giving back" has been noticed by many people at various festivals, runs and other events - great attention has been paid to communication since the start of the system.
The daily task is to live up to high expectations
Annual population surveys show how the public views the bail system. According to the latest survey, all respondents indicate that they have enough information about the system, which was a major innovation 5 years ago.
"Active communication and dissemination of information is very important for any change. From the very beginning, we maintain an active dialogue, the public accepts our messages, so together we achieve good results", shares G. Varnas. The public opinion survey conducted in October last year showed that the absolute majority (98%) of those surveyed believe that the bail system is necessary.
Most often, the benefits of the system are indicated in the survey - less garbage and less pollution of the environment. Even 92 percent research participants admitted that after the introduction of the package deposit system, the amount of garbage left in parks, lakesides and other natural places visited by people decreased. 85 percent respondents answered that the emergence of the deposit system encouraged a more responsible approach to the sorting of all waste.
According to G. Varna, as public awareness grows, residents themselves find more and more reasons to sort and share their experiences with others - this is how behavioral norms and habits change. Therefore, USAD and its partners make every effort to ensure that the package collection network operates smoothly and meets the expectations of consumers. The last survey revealed that even 95 percent are satisfied with the functioning of the disposable packaging deposit system. respondents.
