Turkey has now introduced the "Green Dot" as the 16th European country to have done so. This mark, which funds the packaging recycling scheme, is issued by the European umbrella association, Pro Europe (www.pro-europe.org). Hans-Peter Repnik, Chairman of the Board of "Duales System" (www.gruener-punkt.de), Germany, that operates the scheme, sees the decision as a "key environmental-policy signal, showing that the Turkish economy has opted for closed-loop recycling management in accordance with the European standard long before it would have been obliged to do so as a potential future member of the EU".