Last year, Lithuanian residents collected and returned a record number of beverage deposit packages - over 672 million. units. On average, there were approximately 240 returned packages per inhabitant of the country, which became valuable secondary raw material and went to recyclers.
According to the data of the non-profit organization "Užstato systemos administratorius" (USAD), the non-profit organization that oversees the deposit system in Lithuania, mostly returns empty PET plastic packages - as many as 345,4 million. Also, residents returned 281,7 million. of aluminum and 563 thousand steel cans, 44,3 million glass bottles. The total number of returned deposit packages last year was 16,6 million. (or 2,5 percent) higher than in 2021.
"Believing that it is worth returning, residents delivered over 92 percent of containers to collection points. of packages released to the market during the year. People were especially active in the warm season, when drink sales are at their highest," says Gintaras Varnas, head of USAD. According to him, the good results were due to more than one reason: partnerships and smooth cooperation with traders, growing public awareness, as well as educational initiatives such as the interactive ECO Race and the Endangered Species campaign.
According to G. Varna, stable achievements show that the deposit system has been working effectively in the country for seven years and helps society move towards a circular economy and sustainability. In total, over 7 billion was returned in the 4 years since the start of the bail system in the country. deposit packages. This is 400 million. euros, which were recovered by Lithuanian people who actively supported the system and smoothly collected the deposit.
According to USAD, the largest amounts of bail packages were collected in major cities across the country. More than 145 million was collected in Vilnius during the year, Beautiful - 83 million, Klaipėda - 41,5 million packaging.
On the other hand, residents and guests of smaller municipalities also made a significant contribution to cleaner nature. For example, almost 10 million was returned in the municipality of Utena district. packages, in Palanga city municipality - almost 8 million, in Trakai district - 6,3 million, in Molėtai district - 4,7 million, in Druskininkai - 5,8 million. According to G. Varna, a wide network of container collection points ensures that returning empty bottles and cans is close and convenient, especially when drinks are consumed outdoors. According to the system administrator, the number of taromats in Lithuania exceeded 1300 last year.
The total weight of packaging waste that arrived at the USAD calculation center in Vilnius in 2022 reached as much as 27,3 thousand. tons. A total of over 11,5 thousand was collected. tons of PET plastic, over 11,1 thousand tons of disposable glass packaging, 4,6 thousand tons of aluminum. G. Varnas, head of USAD, points out that packaging waste collected through the deposit system is highly valued by recyclers due to its high quality. Production from secondary raw materials consumes far fewer resources and emits less greenhouse gases.
