Over 59m disposable packaging collected in July

July was a record month regarding the disposable packaging deposit system. Lithuanians returned more than 52 million glass and plastic bottles and cans.

Nearly 45% of all packages have been returned in the bigger cities. More than 11.4 million units of disposable packaging have been collected in July in Vilnius, in Kaunas – 6.4 million, Klaipėda – 3.7 million, Šiauliai – nearly 3 million and Panevėžys – 2.1 million.

However, adjusted to population sizes, most packaging was collected in popular resort towns and areas – Palanga, Neringa and Druskininkai as well as Ignalina, Utena and Molėtai.

“The fact that there is a lot of packaging collected in tourist areas shows that the Lithuanian seaside, lakeside and forests are actually becoming cleaner. This summer is the first time when the deposit system is working in the country, so we as a system administrator, are actively trying to remind that each package has a value, so they should not be left in the wild. For example, during festivals Bliuzo Naktys, Galapagai and Roko Naktys, we encouraged the participants not to forget to collect packages. And people could throw the empty containers into a special machine and in this way to donate to animal protection organization Lesė. More than 7,000 packages or €700 have been collected this way. It has collected more than 7,000 packages, or €700,” said The deposit system CEO Gintaras Varnas.

The deposit system, introduced this year, charges buyers €0.1 extra when they buy beverages packaged in plastic or glass bottles or cans. They can get the deposit back by bringing the packaging to special collecting points that have been installed in most supermarkets.

Lzinios.lt