The key facts

  • In one month, a single Tashkent reverse vending machine accepted 16,581 containers, with payouts totaling 2.4 million soums
  • The reward is 150 soums per container up to three liters in volume, clean and empty
  • A mandatory deposit system for bottles and cans is under discussion: recycling of such waste stands at 6.2%

Results of the first month of the pilot

Over a month of operation, the reverse vending machine installed in Tashkent accepted 16,581 containers, reported the press service of the Waste Management and Circular Economy Development Agency. Of these, 14,899 units were plastic containers, 1,289 were aluminum cans, and 393 were glass containers. Users were paid a total of 2.4 million soums.

How the pilot project works

Gazeta reported in September on the launch of two pilot reverse vending machines: the devices were installed by the Waste Management Agency together with the Norwegian company Tomra. One machine stands in front of the building of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change at 7A Bunyodkor Street in the Chilanzar district of Tashkent, while the second is being tested in Surkhandarya region. For each container returned, 150 soums are credited — the money can be transferred to an e-wallet or donated to charity under the Yashil Makon project. The container must be clean, empty, and no more than three liters in volume. If the pilot succeeded, it was planned to expand it nationwide.

From pilot to deposit system

The first month's figures matter in the context of broader plans: in October, the deputy chairman of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change Iskandar Kutbiddinov presented a draft new version of the law 'On Waste', which provides for a mandatory deposit system for plastic and glass bottles and aluminum cans. The need for the measure was explained by the low recycling rate for such waste — 6.2%. Under the draft, a packaging deposit may be included in the price of goods, which the customer gets back after returning the empty container to a special collection point. A container return mechanism using deposits had previously been included in the list of promising innovative projects by a presidential decree of May 31, 2023. Thus, the Tashkent machine is, for now, a voluntary pilot paying 150 soums per unit, whereas the deposit system in the draft law remains a planned measure, not an adopted norm.