| Name of Program | Packaging Law, Deposit System Operation Regulations [1] |
| Date Implemented | Expected February 2022; passed October 2019 |
| Containers Covered |
Containers of the following materials between 100mL and 3L:
Containers of the following material between 200mL and 1L:
|
| Beverages Covered |
|
| Beverages Not Covered |
|
| Amount of Deposit |
€ 0.10 |
Details
In 2004, Latvia introduced a voluntary deposit system for refillable/reusable products, particularly glass containers. [2] In response to the 2019 European Union’s Single-Use Plastics Directive, the Latvian Parliament, Saeima, passed an amendment to the Packaging Law to create a deposit-return system for disposable beverage containers, on 24 October 2019. [3] They ordered the government to conduct research into widening the products available for deposit in December of the same year.
The specific structure and regulations for Latvia's new deposit system were approved on 11 August 2020. Containers will have a special barcode that will be read to be authenticated and accepted. Consumers may return containers through manual store returns, specified return center locations, and reverse vending machines (RVMs). The scheme is expected to roll out in February 2022. [4]
Footnotes
[1] "Global Deposit Book 2020: An Overview of Deposit Systems for One-Way Beverage Containers." Reloop Inc. 15 December 2020.
[2] "OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Latvia 2019." Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 2019.
[3] "Bottle deposit system to be implemented in Latvia in 2022." Latvian Public Broadcasting. 25 October 2019.
[4] "Government in Latvia approves regulations for introduction of bottle deposit system." The Baltic Course. 11 August 2020.
Last Updated on 22 April 2020.