“We are pleased with the active involvement of the public in the deposit system – this shows the growing sense of responsibility and concern for a cleaner environment for us and future generations. Residents’ loyalty to the deposit system is also confirmed by a study conducted in February, in which 69% of users of the deposit system confirmed that they have recommended the system to others. Approaching the warmest period of the year, when we will go out into nature more often and consume more different drinks in deposit packages, we predict a rapid increase in the amount of packages handed over at taromats and manual points, therefore we will join forces together with merchants to provide efficient service to the users of the deposit system even in the spring and summer season,” comments Miks Stūrītis, chairman of the board of SIA Depozīta Epakojuma Operators.
1100 taromats have already been installed
With the onset of warmer weather, the volumes of delivered packages have grown significantly – if, for example, in December of last year, an average of 730,000 deposit packages were returned per day, then in March of this year, the proportion of delivered packages per day increased by 19%, reaching 869,000.
The taromat network, which has been expanded during the year, also plays an important role in improving the user experience – now Latvian residents can return empty deposit packages to already 1,100 taromats. We would like to remind you that when the deposit system started operating, 736 automated deposit points were operating in Latvia, where ATMs were installed. “The operator has been working on the optimization of the taromat network since the fall of 2022 – more powerful taromat models are installed in sales points where the demand for package transfers is higher, while in places where the volumes of package transfers are smaller than expected, the taromat is replaced with a lower capacity one model in order to reduce the occupied area and the amount of electricity consumed,” he says SIA Depozīta Epakojuma Operators director of logistics and infrastructure Gatis Galejs.
PET packaging – the most common on the market; glass – the best returned
Although PET is one of the most common beverage packaging, another type of material leads the pack in terms of return rates. At the moment, the best return rates can be observed for refillable (AU) glass packaging – in the first two months of the year, about 97% of the AU glass packaging put on the market was returned. In addition, when analyzing return rates in different product groups, it can be seen that beer packaging ranks first with the best return results (91%), followed by lemonade (89%) and water packaging (84%).
The data at DIO’s disposal show that the production of the new and expanded scope of the deposit system amounted to about half a million packages in February – mostly various strong alcoholic cocktails, as well as the first syrup packages and other alcoholic beverages in PET and tin packaging, have been put on the market so far. It is expected that with the new scope in April, the proportion of labeled products will increase significantly.
Residents willingly choose to donate
As part of the “Donate your deposit” donation initiative, residents transfer a little over 1% of the recovered deposit fee to ATMs every day. The amount donated has already reached 100,000 euros, which will be directed to providing practical assistance to Ukrainian refugee children, paws living in animal shelters, as well as needy seniors. Already now, through Ziedot.lv, various useful goods have been purchased for Ukrainian children, including computers and optical glasses needed for school. Medicines, firewood, etc. goods were provided for the old people, but several hundred abandoned animals were paid for their stay in shelters so that they could wait for their new owners.