British experts help us increase the collection of packaging waste
NALED's Environment Protection Alliance initiated the development of two studies that will show how to improve the existing system of packaging management and whether there is a need for introducing a deposit system as a response to the challenges of colllecting and recycling this type of waste. The deposit system means that citizens who return single-use and other used packaging receive a refund of a part of the money they allocated to buy the product, while the current system obliges the producers to collect the thrown waste via operators
The President of NALED's Alliance Jelena Kiš says that the Draft Law on Packaging and Packaging Waste has initiated the topic of introducing the deposit system, but there are many unresolved issues, such as the materials to be encompassed in the system, the teritorries and geographical coverage of the system, the manner of designating the packaging and the regulatory body that would manage the system. Even though the deposit system has proven to be a good mechanism for collecting packaging waste in Europe, there is a need for independent expert evaluation about the possible effects in the Serbian market, which will be shown by these two studies.
- The Alliance's goal is to find the most efficient and financially suitable solution for the consumers, businesses and the state. Bearing in mind the complexity of introducing the deposit system, there are two main prerequisites for success - for the law to ensure a high level of predictability of future liabilities, and for the system to be based on a comprehensive analysis that would recommend the best solution. This is why we are starting the development of a study on introducing the deposit system and a study on the possibilities of developing the existing system, which will be performed by Eunomia from the UK, one of the leading companies in this field, with broad experience in advising the European Commission on the matters regarding the packaging waste management and circular economy - says Kiš.
Within negotiation chapter 27, in the field of packaging waste, Serbia vowed to recycle 49% of glass, 32% of plastics, 60% of paper and 52% of metal by 2025. This year already, our country was supposed to rech the goals of 30% recycled glass, 28% platics, 54% paper and 29% metal.
To achieve these goals, a parallel development of primary selection of waste is necessary, as it is assumed that 60% of packaging waste comes from households, compared to 40% from commercial waste.
The development of these studies is in line with the priorities of the Ministry of Environment Protection and the announced law amendments. By hiring an independent consulting company, the businesses involved in the Environment Protection Alliance wish to be proactive and help the state in making the decision about the best model, based on observing all data and comparative practice.
Improving the overall conditions for the collection, coprocessing and recycling of all waste flows is one of the main goals of NALED's Environment Protection Alliance which was established in late 2019, and in slightly less than a year, managed to initiate systemic solutions in the field of environment protection, such as the matter of packaging waste.
