Establishment of deposit refund system in Greece for PET bottles: Economic analysis, benefits and impacts

Abstract

The current paper deals with the implementation of the Deposit Refund System (DRS), as new recycling system in Greece for PET packages, in accordance with the European Directive 2019/904. The main purpose of this work was the presentation of a cost-benefit analysis that evaluated the suggestions and the impacts of the aforementioned European Directive for Greece. In addition to the cost-benefit analysis, a comparison between the DRS and the existing recycling model for PET (PolyEthylene Terephthalate) packages was carried out aiming at eliciting the ramifications for Greece. Furthermore, a mathematical model was set up, based on data regarding PET recycling in Greece. This model describes the operation of the corresponding DRS in Greece, and could be useful for understanding, establishing, and improving DRSs for other waste commodities.

Keywords

• circular economy for plastics
• drs economic analysis
• drs for pet bottles
• environmental impacts of drs
• evaluation of drs in greece
• pet bottles recycling