BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 14
Trend:
Today, the operator of extended producer responsibility (EPR) has launched subsidizing the system for collecting and transporting packaging waste in the Ecoqolday application in Kazakhstan, Trend reports with reference to Kazinform news agency.
The first stage is the financing of 10,667 tons of secondary raw materials, this is the volume of recycled waste already accepted and utilized by the Kazakh plants.
The payment is made on the basis of applications for subsidies submitted in the system.
The Ecoqolday program automatically calculates the amount of compensation paid for the waste paper, plastic packaging waste, and glass collected and transported for recycling.
The amount of cash payments with VAT for one ton of secondary raw materials is glass – 22,344 tenge ($51.86), plastic packaging – 26,399 tenge ($61.27), paper/cardboard – 16,977 tenge ($39.40). The operator of extended producer responsibility also partially subsidizes transport costs depending on the distance.
To date, 222 participants have been registered in the Ecoqolday system, these are 74 enterprises collecting secondary raw materials, 22 recycling plants and 126 transport companies.
The transition to a digital model made it possible to increase the purchase cost of waste paper, waste polymer products and glass.
The prices now vary as follows for packaging waste: cardboard and paper in the range of 40-85 tenge/kg ($0.093-0.20), glass in the range of 22-28 tenge/kg ($0.051-0.065), plastic in the range of 80-180 tenge/kg ($0.19-0.42).
The work in the "EcoQolday" system allows collectors to apply for funding immediately after transferring recyclable materials for disposal.
The EPR has simplified the procedure for receiving compensation payments since 2021.
The new model envisages the changes in the principles of collection, processing, transportation, and disposal of packaging waste.
The "EcoQolday" project is a platform for both existing entrepreneurs and those wishing to start their own business in the direction of the collection, processing, transportation, and disposal of packaging waste (waste paper, plastic, and glass).
The plans for 2021 include the collection, processing, transportation, and utilization of secondary raw materials in a volume of 230,000 tons.
The total amount of financing from the EPR Operator for this year will be approximately 10 billion tenge ($23.2 million).