Intense Interest from Citizens for the Deposit Return System in Türkiye

The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change announced that the Deposited Beverage Packaging (DOA) System, implemented across Türkiye, has received great interest from citizens. Aimed at preventing beverage packaging from being thrown into nature, this project is meticulously carried out by the Türkiye Environmental Agency (TÜÇA) as part of the Zero Waste Movement. The system became active in all 81 provinces as of 1 July, officially starting its national integration phase. Citizens are incentivized to participate in this eco-friendly movement by receiving a payment of 1 TL for each piece when they return beverage packaging with the DOA logo, made of aluminum, PET, or glass. According to ministry data, millions of packaging items were collected and brought into the economy in the first days of the system.

One of the most important pieces of data proving the success of the system was shared by the Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Murat Kurum. Accordingly, citizens delivered 7 million 600 thousand beverage packages to recycling machines between 1-5 July alone. This intense participation caused the number of registered users in the system to exceed 1.3 million in a short period. This great interest shown by the public demonstrates how much environmental awareness has developed in Türkiye and the high level of trust in the project. Authorities state that they expect these numbers to continue increasing and that public support is critical in achieving the targets. This mass popularization of the recycling habit signals a radical change in waste management across the country.

In addition to this strong support from citizens, the integration of other major stakeholders of the system, such as hotels, restaurants, and cafes, into the process is of great importance. With the start of the mandatory implementation process, it has become a legal requirement for these businesses to complete their registrations via the Deposit Information Management System (DBYS). Furthermore, businesses must determine and sign contracts with authorized field operators with whom they will collaborate to regularly collect waste. Authorities emphasize that they insist on completing this integration process by the end of October and that no extensions will be granted. Following this specified date, administrative fines and various sanctions will be imposed on businesses that fail to fulfill their obligations under the relevant legislation.

TÜÇA Chairman Nurullah Öztürk pointed out that approximately 65 percent of the beverage packaging targeted for recovery is consumed in what we call the hospitality sector, namely hotels, restaurants, and cafes. Therefore, the inclusion of businesses in the system is considered essential for the project's national success. Packaging accumulated in businesses that have completed their registration processes is safely tracked digitally and collected regularly by authorized operators. While the entire collection, transportation, and verification process is conducted transparently, businesses contributing to this process are paid an incentive fee of 20 kuruş per packaging item. This ensures that local businesses generate additional income while also guaranteeing that waste is integrated into the recycling chain without polluting nature.

When evaluating long-term goals, it is clearly seen that the DOA System is a gigantic step for Türkiye's circular economy vision. It is planned to recover and reintroduce into the economy approximately 25 billion beverage packaging items released into the market in Türkiye every year, thanks to this system. This comprehensive recycling operation is expected to provide an annual financial contribution of around 30 billion TL to the country's economy. Initially, the recovery rate of waste packaging is targeted to reach 50 percent, while the goal is to achieve an 80 percent rate after the system reaches full maturity. Authorities believe that with the intense cooperation of citizens and businesses, this eco-friendly transformation will continue to grow, leaving a much more livable environment for future generations.