Last year, waste flows delivered for sorting and treatment in Lithuania broke new records. Data from UAB "Ekobazė", one of the largest waste management companies in Lithuania, show that last year waste collection grew in all segments: the amounts of construction waste, used tires, plastic, paper packaging, glass increased, and other specific industrial and production waste transferred to the company for treatment also increased.
The unaudited turnover of "Ekobaze" in 2024 reached 34,6 million euros, i.e. 27 percent more than in 2023, when the turnover reached 27,2 million euros. In 2020, the company's turnover reached 15,5 million euros, i.e. it more than doubled in 5 years. In 2024, the company's profit increased from 264 thousand euros to 2 million euros. The profit of companies controlled by the same shareholders (UAB "Ekobazė", UAB "Ūkė", UAB "Ekobazė NT") reached 3,9 million euros (2 million last year), and the consolidated turnover of the companies increased from 28,2 million euros to 36,4 million euros.
Last year, Ekobažė processed 12 percent or 30 thousand tons of waste more than in 2023. Since 2015, the amount of waste processed at Ekobažė has increased every year and has increased sixfold over the past decade. In 2015, Ekobažė processed 47 thousand tons of waste, and in 2024, it already processed 276 thousand tons of waste. About a third of the waste prepared for recycling or raw materials made from waste went abroad - to Germany, Poland and other European countries.
"The export of treated waste that has been converted into secondary raw materials, the new sorting technologies we have implemented, have allowed us to manage waste better and sell raw materials made from waste at a higher price. Revenue from exports and the overall increase in the amount of treated waste, growing revenue from waste management services in the Lithuanian market contributed to the good performance of our group of companies last year. This was also helped by the increased demand for rubber products made from used tire rubber granules - the products, which have been looking for their way into Lithuania for a long time, received significantly more customers last year due to their quality and sustainability," says Marina Curko-Notkuvienė, head of Ekobase.
According to the head of Ekobase, the company's good financial results were greatly contributed to by the improved competitive environment, when, after taxes increased in some landfills, some companies that transported waste there changed their habits last year, as it became cheaper to deliver waste to waste processors than to transport waste for disposal in landfills.
"We have done a lot of educational work, we have consulted companies for which it is not easy to change old habits. However, with the increase in landfill taxes, we can already offer competitive prices. Overall, we notice that the awareness of Lithuanian companies is changing for the better every year. In other segments, old company habits are changing not only due to the coming maturity, but also due to the large fines that are looming. For example, we are noticing a breakthrough in the collection of confidential document waste destined for destruction - last year alone we collected 92 tons more (about 20 percent) of confidential documents destined for destruction," notes the head of "Ekobaza".
Containers don't lie - Lithuania's economy and consumption grew
"We constantly work with the largest Lithuanian industrial and manufacturing companies, we collect their waste, we can confidently say that everything was fine with the Lithuanian economy last year, because the amount of waste grew significantly in all segments. Another most likely reason for the increase in waste is that a number of illegal landfills stopped operating last year, so some of the waste "crept out" from the shadows and ended up with us," says M. Notkuvienė. Last year, the amount of construction waste brought to "Ekobazė" increased, both from companies and from private individuals carrying out construction or demolition work on old buildings, and the amount of used tires and packaging waste delivered also increased. The amount of packaging from sorting containers increased by 12 percent.
"They say that the state of the economy can be assessed with the naked eye by the number of construction cranes seen in cities, but we, as waste managers, also see the whole picture of consumption, production and economic activity, or rather, what is left after this activity. We also organize packaging that comes from foreign e-commerce, packaging of goods brought by residents from neighboring countries, which are not included in any official statistics, and packaging of goods that they bring back from neighboring countries where they go shopping. Container statistics do not lie, and the growing amounts of discarded packaging, tires and other waste show that consumption is growing every year," notes M. Curko - Notkuvienė.
According to her, in all our business segments, we see signs that waste volumes will continue to grow. The company plans to continue investing in new waste management technologies. In 2024, the company invested over 2,5 million euros in equipment renewal and infrastructure improvement, and this year it plans to invest another 4,4 million euros.
Challenges – the emerging German economy and its impact on Lithuania
According to Marina Curkas-Notkuvienė, the main business challenges in the coming years will be the situation in Germany and how the country's economy will look. "Germany is very important to us, because we export a large part of our secondary raw materials prepared for processing to it. Other challenges may also affect our business - in Lithuania, these are illegal landfills, and abroad - the decreasing demand for glass products, as beverage manufacturers are increasingly replacing glass packaging with plastic packaging, because it is cheaper, so it is likely that plastic packaging waste flows will continue to grow, while bottled glass will decrease over time. In total, we export about 30 percent of the processed waste abroad, and we sell the rest in Lithuania," notes the head of "Ekobaza".
"Ekobaza" processes production into new value - tire waste is used to produce coatings for sports and children's playgrounds, barriers for parking lots, and sound-insulating rubber panels for building construction. "According to our data, since 2020, the volume of production and sales of products made from tires and plastic in Lithuania has grown 10 times, and more and more products on the local market are made from plastic granules, from which garden and vegetable supplies are made in Lithuania," says the head of "Ekobaza".
From plastic and other waste that is not suitable for recycling, more and more solid recoverable fuel is being produced at the Ecobase, suitable for cement factories that have implemented environmentally friendly technologies. So far, only the amount of cullet exported abroad is growing every year, where it is transformed into new glass for windows, insulating materials, or bottles.
Actively prepare for textile recycling
"From 2025, textile waste collection has become mandatory in Lithuania, but so far the system for how this waste will be managed in Lithuania is only being developed. This is another challenge for us, because textile waste is very different, it consists of clothing, shoes, clothing accessories, most of which are mixtures of natural and synthetic fibers, therefore we are currently actively looking for solutions on how we can adapt to the textile collection, sorting and recycling system, which is still being developed in Lithuania," says M. Curko - Notkuvienė.
UAB "Ekobazė" is one of the largest waste management and recycling companies in Lithuania, engaged in the management of secondary raw materials, packaging, industrial, construction, bulky waste, tire and hazardous waste collection. The company also has a successfully operating division in the Latvian market.
