Last year, Lithuanian residents who used the packaging deposit system returned 655,4 million. disposable beverage packages made of PET plastic, aluminum or glass. The record number of deposit packages collected went to recyclers and turned into new products.
The data of the non-profit organization "Užstato systemos administratorius" (USAD), the non-profit organization that oversees the deposit system in our country, shows that, compared to the results of 2020 (612,7 million), almost 43 million containers were delivered to container collection points last year. more packages. A total of 90,2 percent was returned. of packages released to the market during the year.
Gintaras Varnas, head of USAD, notes that similar results could have been predicted after the record-breaking summer of last year, when 217 million dollars were collected in three months. deposit packages.
"The figures of returned and recycled deposit packaging in Lithuania allow us to understand why more and more European countries decide to implement a deposit system - to manage beverage packaging waste more efficiently and thus strengthen the circular economy," says G. Varnas.
The deposit system for single-use beverage packages has already started in Slovakia this year. They intend to launch the system this year Latvija, Ireland, Romania and some other European countries aiming to implement the extremely high requirements of the EU directive. The directive sets a target of 2029. to collect 90 percent for recycling. plastic beverage bottles up to 3 liters (with an interim target of 77% in 2025). The Lithuanian bail system achieved and exceeded these goals already in the second year of the system's operation.
Lithuania and other countries using the deposit system emphasize that they efficiently collect most of the packaging released to the market. Another important advantage is that the collected collateral packaging waste is of high quality, accurately sorted and not contaminated with impurities. And this simplifies the packaging recycling process and helps save water and energy resources, ensuring lower CO2 emissions. Sustainability is also enhanced by the fact that high-quality secondary raw materials are 100 percent recyclable - practice shows that the amount of non-recyclable waste is reduced to a minimum or does not remain at all.
High-quality secondary raw materials are in high demand - European and global manufacturing and processing industry leaders compete for them. G. Varnas, head of USAD, adds that there is a clear lack of PET plastic and aluminum in secondary raw materials markets in the world, which leads to an increase in the prices of raw materials. Therefore, the organization plans to receive more income from the collected and ready-for-processing packages this year. Taking this into account, USAD has reduced tariffs for PET and aluminum packaging released to the market this year - manufacturers and importers pay less for each such packaging than last year.
PET plastic bottles and aluminum cans make up the majority of packaging returned through the deposit system. Last year, residents presented and recovered security for more than 341 million. of PET plastic packaging, over 272 million aluminum cans and 41,7 million glass bottles. The weight of returned and recycled PET packaging was 11,6 thousand. tons, aluminum - 4,5 thousand. tons, glass - almost 11 thousand. tons.
Reviewing the results, the head of USAD G. Varnas points out that the collection of glass containers in Lithuania still remains a problem - it reaches 84 percent. and lags behind the established 88 percent. task. As a result of the unfulfilled task, beverage manufacturers and importers will have to pay a packaging tax, which is included in the rate of glass packaging. According to Mr. Varna, feedback from residents shows that glass bottles are less likely to end up in taromats and collection points because they are heavy enough, break and cause more inconvenience to consumers.
The deposit system operating in Lithuania since February 2016 has collected about 2021 billion beverage packages by the end of 3,4.
