Türkiye Deposit Return System Starts July 1

Turkey has officially launched the nationwide rollout of its Deposit Return System (DRS) extending recycling infrastructure across all 81 provinces and 973 districts as of July 1.

According to the Turkish Environmental Agency, the system has now completed its national integration phase and is fully operational across the country, marking one of the largest coordinated recycling initiatives in Turkey’s history.

The DRS system is designed to ensure that beverage packaging such as plastic, glass, and aluminium containers are collected separately at the source, digitally tracked, and reintroduced into the recycling loop.

1 TL incentive per returned container

Under the scheme, citizens receive a 1 Turkish lira (0.021 USD) incentive per eligible beverage container returned through deposit return machines or manual collection points.

Authorities have set a daily return limit of 200 containers per individual to maintain system stability and ensure fair usage.

Payments are credited to a digital wallet system, which allows users to transfer balances to bank accounts, withdraw cash via ATMs, or use the funds directly for purchases.

Integration into a nationwide circular economy model

Officials say the DRS system represents a key pillar of Turkey’s broader “Zero Waste” strategy, aiming to significantly reduce environmental pollution while increasing recycling rates and domestic raw material recovery.

Turkey reportedly consumes around 25 billion beverage containers annually, a large portion of which previously entered waste streams without being recycled. The new system is intended to capture this material flow and reintroduce it into production cycles.

Economic and industrial impact

Authorities estimate that the system could reduce imported raw material dependency for beverage packaging by 35–40%, while generating approximately 30 billion Turkish lira in annual economic value.

The initiative is also expected to create long-term employment opportunities, with projections of up to 20,000 jobs in logistics, collection, and recycling operations over the next decades.

Local manufacturing and technology integration

The deposit return machines used in the system are domestically developed, according to officials. This is presented as part of Turkey’s broader push to strengthen its industrial capacity in green technologies and circular economy infrastructure.