Latvia’s deposit return scheme (DRS), introduced two years ago, has seen 80% of all beverage packaging returned after use, according to the system’s operator, Depozīta Iepakojuma Operators (DIO).

DIO said the number of plastic bottles discarded in 17 coastal sites selected for a new study was down by 61%, compared to data collected the year before the introduction of the deposit system.

Latvia’s DRS has already reached the EU Single-Use Plastic Directive’s goal of separately collecting 77% of plastic drink containers by 2025, DIO said, adding that the country’s sights were now firmly on meeting the directive’s 90% return rate by 2029. 

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According to DIO, the PET container collection rate had reached 83%, up from 45% prior to the system’s introduction. The return rate for refillable drink containers rose from 50% to 90%.

The deposit for drinks containers in Latvia is EUR 0.10 and covers PET, aluminium, steel, and glass for carbonated and non-carbonated non-alcohol drinks. It also covers similarly packaged beer and other fermented products with an alcohol content of up to 15%, and all alcoholic drinks in PET and metal containers.

The collection infrastructure is run by Tomra (Asker, Norway; www.tomra.com). DIO research found the deposit system is used regularly – at least once per month – by 80% of the Latvian population and by 94% of the country’s households.