TOMRA equips Lithuania’s deposit-return system

Photo above: Gintaras Varnas, managing director of USAD in Lithuania,
tries out a new reverse vending machine.

Some 1,000 reverse vending machines (RVMs) provided by Norway-based TOMRA have helped the nation of Lithuania carry out a deposit-return system designed to give consumers an incentive to return plastic beverage bottles and aluminum used beverage containers (UBCs) for recycling.

In February 2016, the government of Lithuania implemented its deposit-return system to combat litter and increase collection and recycling rates. Consumers pay a deposit amount of €0.10 when purchasing eligible drink containers, to be refunded when the empty container is returned for recycling.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Environment and the country’s legislators determined the system applies to non-refillable glass, plastic and metal beverage containers ranging from 0.1 to 3 liters in size (3.5 ounces to 3.2 quarts).

In March 2015, the Ministry of Environment named non-profit Užstato Sistemos Administratorius (USAD) as operator of the new deposit system. USAD was established by the Lithuanian Association of Brewers, the Association of Lithuanian Trade Enterprises and the Lithuanian Natural Mineral Water Manufacturers’ Association to address extended producer responsibility matters.

The government chose a “return-to-retail” collection model – meaning stores selling beverage containers must also receive used containers back for recycling. In Lithuania this applied to all stores in rural areas and urban stores larger than 300 square meters (3,200 square feet).

Retailers were to be provided RVMs either inside their stores or as outdoor kiosk installations. Consumers are refunded their deposit in the form of vouchers that can be redeemed in-store as cash or credit toward their shopping bill.

After a public tender process, USAD selected TOMRA to provide the RVMs. TOMRA had a deadline of just 100 days to establish the system.

“We have a strong partner in TOMRA who can do this very big job in advising us, sharing know-how and also providing solutions for automated collection points,” says Gintaras Varnas, the CEO of USAD.

In Lithuania, the investment in the RVM infrastructure was taken by TOMRA itself. Eligible stores receive an RVM free of charge. USAD pays a handling fee per collected container to the store, to cover RVM-related costs like space, setup, maintenance and data exchange. TOMRA recuperates its investment via a “throughput” fee that USAD pays for each container collected through an RVM.  

The roll-out commenced in Lithuania in October 2015, just one month after TOMRA was selected as the technology provider. TOMRA was tasked with providing 1,000 RVMs, with a mix of low, medium and high-volume machines to suit different locations. TOMRA partnered with three Baltic region construction companies to manufacture and deliver 350 RVM kiosks, which had to be warm, waterproof, easily transportable, and plug-and-play ready for electricity and internet connectivity.

Brewers and retail stakeholders have expressed satisfaction with the implementation of the Lithuanian system. “I can say with absolute confidence the deposit return scheme was the right thing to do,” states Laurynas Vilimas, managing director of the Lithuanian Retailers Association.

Remarks Diemante Mitkuviene, former director of processes and quality management at supermarket chain Maxima, “For business, I think [it] is also quite good, because people then come to our shop with their deposit; they will come back and they will buy some new products. It’s a big benefit for our business.”

By the end of 2016, 99.8 percent of the Lithuanian public was aware of the deposit system, with 89 percent having used it at least once. Prior to the scheme, only one-third of all beverage containers in Lithuania were returned. USAD set a goal of a 55 percent return rate in 2016, and far exceeded that mark with 74.3 percent of all beverage containers returned for recycling that year. The return rate reached 91.9 percent by the end of 2017.

“We feel an obligation to take care of our country, society and nature,” says Saulius Galadauskas, head of the Lithuanian Brewers Association and chair of USAD. “That is why we wanted to design a deposit return system that would work as well as possible for citizens, producers, importers and traders. We can be proud of our deposit return system, which brings us closer to the Lithuania we want to see – a cleaner, more beautiful and more modern country.”

TOMRA says it has more than 82,000 RVM installations in more than 60 markets worldwide, and the company says its machines “capture 35 billion used beverage containers every year.”