Slovakia is an inspiration for the surrounding countries in deposit sale
by SPU Web Editor
The selection lecture was held on November 14 at the Institute of Law and Sustainable Development of the Faculty of European Studies and Regional Development of SUA. "We are the thirteenth country in Europe that joined the deposit system and the first country in our region that joined the idea of circular economy and launched a deposit system. "Thanks to the successful introduction of depositing, Slovakia has become a country that inspires neighbouring countries as well," said Marián Áč in his lecture.
He emphasized that the deposit gives a chance to collect more material of higher quality for recycling, which can then be reused in new packaging. It removes waste from public spaces, does not litter and does not pollute nature. Áč also highlighted the cleanliness of the returned package. "By using special equipment, we separate the waste and the packaging material is not contaminated by anything else," he pointed out.
Slovaks will return 2 billion packages by the end of the year
Slovaks have learned to return deposited packages without major problems. "The 90 percent return rate is a very nice number, and it puts us at the top of the deposit systems that exist in Europe or in the world. By the end of this year, we expect a volume of approximately 2 billion returned plastic or aluminum packaging. Consumers have got used to the system, and it it is also demonstrated in the results we have", evaluated Marián Áč.
Slovakia has committed to increasing the current amount of beverage packaging collection from 60% to 90% in 2025. It has chosen an advance system that combines the efforts of producers, traders, consumers and the state, represented by the Slovak Ministry of the Environment. The administrator of the deposit system is a non-profit organization that finances and coordinates the functioning of the deposit system of disposable beverage containers. "The European Union is adopting legislation that motivates recycled material to be reused in the production of new packaging. It also sets targets which say that by 2029 all EU countries will have to have some sort of system to ensure 90 per cent collection. No other system has been able to do this yet," stated M. Áč
