Filenews 3 June 2023 - by Angelos Nicolaou
The operation of a guarantee system for single-use beverage packaging, for which a monetary fee is paid by the buyer and will be returned upon return of the packaging for recycling, is promoted by the government through regulations.
The Department of Environment has prepared the relevant regulations that define the detailed provisions for the operation of the system, the obligations of producers and importers, traffickers who place these products on the market and food services and the framework for the payment and refund of the guarantee fee and the creation of return points for packaging.
Essentially, there will be a charge on the price of packages with the purchase by citizens and this extra charge will be refunded by the machines upon their return to the points that will have the Deposit Returning System (DRS).
This is a consumer guarantee return system for plastic bottles, aluminium packaging and glass bottles.
Citizens who return single-use packaging under the scheme to points of sale will receive back the extra money in a voucher as a reward for their participation in recycling. According to the regulations, the guarantee fee for packages up to 3 liters, excluding water packages made of PET plastic with a capacity of up to 0.5 liters is 10 cents, while for water packages up to 0.5 liters the fee is 5 cents.
Therefore, an 8-cent soft drink that currently costs €4.00, with the implementation of the system will cost €4.80, while a soft drink from 80 cents will be sold at 90 cents.
Also, the bottle of water, which currently costs 50 cents, will increase by 5 cents, or sell for 55 cents in total. On the contrary, the 12, which currently costs €3.00, will rise after the increase of 5 cents per bottle to €3.60.
The quality of the materials collected will be excellent, according to the standards of the circular economy with the aim of their reuse. Initially, the following product categories participate in the system: Beers, soft drinks, energy drinks, ready-to-drink drinks, water, tonic, cider, iced tea. Milk, juices, coffee, wines and spirits will be added at a later stage.
The Department of Environment has prepared the Cyprus guarantee scheme, which has been designed based on the successful operating model of existing European guarantee schemes already operating in 13 EU countries. It will be a national mandatory packaging return system actively supported by all companies in the beverage production, distribution and sales chain.
However, there has been opposition in retail with businesses arguing that their costs will increase, while citing a lack of space to install the machines. Of course, there are also companies that want this system to proceed immediately and have shown willingness to do so on their own.
The Department of Environment, seeing the reactions, decided to proceed to a seminar of all stakeholders on 12/6/2023, where officials from other countries will be invited to present their own experience. The aim is to share responsibilities, and to contribute to this direction for the production of clean materials. Guarantee schemes are in operation in 13 EU Member States, a legislative framework has been adopted in another 9 and 8 are under discussion.
All European schemes operate as non-profit organisations with the exception of Germany and the Netherlands. In all European schemes with the exception of Germany, the non-refundable fee remains in the system. All European schemes belong to industry and/or traffickers preferably through links, while all schemes are mandatory and regulated with the exception of Norway.
The 2019 European directive refers to single-use plastics scattered on beaches and seas in Europe. It provides for mandatory separate collection of plastic bottles: 77% by 2025 and 90% by 2029. There is also provision for mandatory use of recycled plastic in packaging: 25% by 2025 (PET), 30% by 2030 (all bottles). The directive provides for tied caps until 2024. This is the same directive that led to the ban on plastic straws in 2021.
Machines in large supermarkets
In the revised European Regulation on Packaging and Packaging Waste expected to be adopted in March 2024, the establishment of guarantee schemes by Member States is now mandatory. In order to exempt any Member State from the obligation to set up a guarantee scheme, it will have to achieve a 2026% reimbursement rate for both 2027 and 90. This is not feasible for Cyprus and for the current system, the return rate for 2021 is 32%. Therefore, the creation of the guarantee scheme is a legal obligation of the country to achieve the objectives, but also to avoid the consequences of heavy fines imposed by the EU.
Under the proposed procedure, producers, importers and packers pay the system the fee per package before the product is placed on the market. Traffickers return the fee, which will be included in the invoice, to producers/packers/importers. In large supermarkets (over 200 sq.m.) special guarantee recycling machines will be installed where consumers will return their empty packaging. A manual procedure will be applied to smaller premises. In rural remote areas, special provisions have been provided for their coverage in order to achieve 100% pancyprian coverage.
Consumers who have purchased products falling under the system pay the fee to the companies from which they obtained the products and are refunded the fee when they return the used packaging to the machines.
The "return to retail" is a prerequisite for high system performance since no additional trips and transit time are required from consumers, who return the packaging to the retail points they visit anyway. Consumers spend the price of the returned warranty in retail stores increasing the value of their shopping basket.
It is possible to redeem packages "on the go", so the large number of redemption points makes it easier. A positive environmental impact is created both on the company's corporate image and on the environment.
Furthermore, separate collection, counting, sorting and management of beverage packaging is provided for under the provisions of the new directive that separates beverage packaging from other materials (obligation of separate collection with higher recycling targets).
INTERVENTION
Winning the environment
Today, many of the recyclable materials end up in our trash along with the rest of the household items and are transported to waste management units. With the measure promoted, the recyclable materials with which beverages are made will largely not end up in waste but will be recycled. Retailers disagree with the new measure. There are others who are asking themselves to implement a guarantee and bottle return system. Let the relevant Department enable them to do so. On the other hand, consumers need to learn that not all garbage can be handled in the same way. Refunding beverage packaging is an important step towards polluting the environment as little as possible.
