“The greatest challenge is bringing all stakeholders on the same page.” – Miks Stūrītis

Miks Stūrītis, EDRSA Board Member and CEO of Depozīta Iepakojuma Operators (DIO), has been with DIO since day one of the implementation of the Deposit Return System in Latvia. He sees DRS as one of the most effective tools for reducing litter, increasing packaging recycling rates and encouraging greater public attention to waste sorting and packaging circularity.

For Miks, Deposit Return Systems are among the most effective tools for significantly reducing litter and increasing packaging recycling rates. At the same time, they encourage society to pay greater attention to waste sorting and to the importance of packaging circularity.

Membership in EDRSA provides opportunities to establish contacts and build networks with peers from other DRS operators, learn from best practices and benchmark different Deposit Return Systems. Another important benefit is the opportunity to join forces and speak with one voice on important regulatory decisions affecting the DRS landscape.

From Miks’ perspective, one of the greatest challenges is bringing all stakeholders on the same page. This means reaching agreement on and implementing a DRS regulatory framework that enables an efficient system with minimal trade-offs, while avoiding ungrounded requirements that could undermine the overall DRS concept.