PLASFED Board Chairman Ömer Karadeniz stated that the Deposit Management System is not just an initiative to protect the environment, saying, "Every piece of packaging thrown in the trash is a strategic raw material lost from the country's economy." Karadeniz emphasized that thanks to the system, 25 billion packages will be brought back into the economy annually, providing an economic saving of approximately 30 billion liras, and stressed that this figure is only the beginning of the economic contribution the system will provide to the industry. He expressed that the real added value will emerge from the recovery of recyclable waste as high-quality secondary raw materials for production.
The Deposit Management System (DYS), implemented across Turkey, has opened the door to a new era in terms of collecting packaging waste separately at the source and providing high-quality raw materials to the recycling industry.
Plastics Industrialists Federation (PLASFED) Board Chairman Ömer Karadeniz stated that thanks to the system, the high-quality raw material needed by the recycling sector will be brought back into the economy, saying, "Every recyclable package we throw in the trash today is actually an economic value lost by our country. We must now collect our raw materials, not our waste."
Within the scope of the Deposit Management System, plastic, glass, and aluminum beverage packaging bearing the DOA (Packaging with Deposit) mark is offered to the market with a deposit application, while consumers can get their deposit fees back by delivering their empty packaging to deposit return machines or authorized return points.
According to the goals of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, once the system reaches full capacity, approximately 25 billion packages will be brought back into the economy annually, and an economic saving of approximately 30 billion TL will be achieved. However, according to PLASFED, this figure only represents the direct economic gain. The true added value will emerge with the recovery of high-quality secondary raw materials that the industry can reuse in production.
"Every package we throw in the trash is a value lost from the economy"
Stating that the Deposit Management System is a historic step for the plastic recycling sector, PLASFED Chairman Karadeniz said:
"As the plastics sector, we have never viewed waste as trash. Every recyclable package is a valuable raw material that can be brought back into production. Every plastic, glass, or metal package that goes to the trash today is actually a value missing from the economy. In other words, we are throwing our money away. Thanks to the Deposit Management System, especially PET beverage packaging will be collected in a much cleaner, separated, and recyclable way. Thus, the quality of recycled raw material will increase, its usage rate in production will rise, and a significant contribution will be made to reducing the need for imported raw materials."
"The 30 billion lira saving is just the beginning of the real gain"
Karadeniz said that the approximately 30 billion lira economic gain to be achieved with the Deposit Management System constitutes only the visible part of the total added value the system will create. Stating that the recovery of 25 billion packages per year into the economy is of strategic importance for the recycling industry, Karadeniz expressed that thanks to the system, recycling facilities will reach higher quality raw materials, production costs will decrease, and savings will be achieved in the use of energy and natural resources. Pointing out that in addition to increasing resource efficiency, the recovery of recyclable raw materials into production will also reduce dependence on imported raw materials, Karadeniz emphasized that the announced 30 billion lira saving is therefore only the beginning of the true economic contribution the system will provide to the industry.
Reminding that Turkey has one of the strongest plastic recycling infrastructures in Europe, Karadeniz added that the Deposit Management System will make a significant contribution to the more efficient use of existing capacity.
"KAS and DYS will achieve success together"
Reminding that PLASFED has argued for many years that the Source Segregation System (KAS) should be widespread, Karadeniz said that the Deposit Management System is one of the most important complements to this understanding. Karadeniz concluded his words as follows:
"The deposit system is a very important step. However, real success will be possible with the spread of the culture of segregation at the source in every segment of society. Collecting recyclable waste separately in homes, workplaces, and all living spaces will ensure that the quality raw material needed by the industry is brought into the economy in a sustainable way. When the Source Segregation System and the Deposit Management System work together, the products we see as waste will turn into high value-added economic resources."
This content has been translated using artificial intelligence technology.
