2 years and 2 weeks - that's how long it took the people of the country to collect and transfer 1 billion to the Depository Administrator (USAD). plastic, glass and can packages participating in the deposit system.
Everyone's contribution
"One billion packages - we reached this indicator incredibly quickly. This can be called the success of the bail system. But above all, it is the success of the people of Lithuania, because the system is a tool that helps them create a clean and healthy environment. Therefore, as the head of USAD, I am happy and I believe that everyone who has at least once carried packages to taromats or tare acceptance points can be happy and proud of this," says Gintaras Varnas, head of USAD.
Symbolic 1 billion the limit was exceeded as USAD celebrated its 2-year anniversary – the system started in 2016. in February. 415,2 million was collected in the first year of the guarantee system's existence. packages, last year this indicator increased to 538,5 million. This year, a similar result is planned as in 2017. During its lifetime, USAD collected and transferred 35 tons of packaging for recycling.
Cleans the environment and changes people's habits
"Compared to other countries, the Lithuanian bail system works very successfully, which is why we regularly receive delegations from countries that want to introduce such a system: France, Scotland, etc. By the way, the impact of USAD is greater than it may appear, because participation in the deposit system encourages residents not only to collect deposit packages, but also to sort all waste in general," says G. Varnas.
When evaluating the impact of the deposit system, it is worth seeing not only the obvious changes, for example, we will hardly see the plastic packaging that used to pollute the environment around us (60% of the packaging collected in the deposit system is plastic), but also positive impulses that are not directly related to deposit packaging - the ecological awareness of the population is increasing , the amount of sorted waste is growing.
According to G. Varna, the system is designed for this purpose, so that as little packaging as possible gets into the environment. At present, more than 90 percent is collected. of all containers participating in the system, and according to this indicator, USAD has already reached its 2020 collection and recycling target for single-use packaging.
356 packages per inhabitant of Lithuania
Currently, there are 2 taromats and tare collection points in Lithuania. In order for USAD to collect one billion packages, every Lithuanian resident had to bring an average of 713 packages, or 356 packages each month of the system's operation.
USAD receives the highest traffic in the summer - then the computing center in Vilnius even has to hire additional workers. Another peak time is in the winter, after the big holidays of the year. In 2016, Lithuanian residents carried the largest amount of tare throughout the system's operation. in July - 58,3 million packaging.
