Environmental organizations question the transparency of the selection of the deposit system operator / Article / LSM.lv

Several NGOs are concerned about the openness of the choice of deposit system operator. The State Environmental Service (SES) will make a decision by the end of the year to entrust the establishment of a multi-million euro bottle collection facility. In the opinion of the organizations, the selection process is not transparent, but the service replied that the evaluation procedure did not allow the presence of observers.

Concerns about the transparency of the choice of deposit system operator have been expressed by six organizations, five of which deal mainly with environmental issues. Jānis Brizga, the head of the association “Zaļā brīvība”, explained that the SES, which is responsible for the selection of the operator, provides information, however, it does not allow observing the decision-making.

“We do not really know and do not see what arguments are being used in favor of one or the other tenderer, how the points are assessed and awarded in these various criteria, which are attached to the rules.

Unfortunately, the process itself is opaque to us, ”said Brizga.

Mr Brizga said the key was to make the system easy to use and to encourage reusable bottles to be reused rather than recycled. He also stressed that the deposit system should not be a profitable project. However, concerns about different business interests are compounded by statements and complaints circulated by both bidders accusing each other of various violations.

On one side is SIA “Depozītapakojuma operators”, in which several large beverage producers have participated, for example, “Cēsu alus”, “Aldaris” and “Cido Grupa”.

The second applicant is SIA “Nulles depozīts”. The largest participants are the Latvian Traders’ Association, as well as the waste management company “Green Belt”, which is currently collecting packaging.

The SES commission plans to approve the opinion on who to entrust the bottle collection system to next week. NGOs were able to participate in the open part of the Commission’s work, but they will not be able to observe the scoring.

Inese Tauriņa, Director of the Society for Transparency Delna, noted: “We have had such an experience with many other state institutions, and then we can comment on the openness and fairness of decision-making in this process.

In this case, it did not happen completely. That is why we are also concerned about whether this decision will be open and fair. “

The SES, meanwhile, replied that the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers did not allow observers to be invited for evaluation.

“Unfortunately, when this draft regulation was harmonized, no suggestions were received from non-governmental organizations on how they could best participate. [..] Of course, we are also bound by the conditions for non-disclosure of information, and therefore we have quite carefully involved the work of the non-governmental organization commission, ”explained the Director General of the Service Elita Baklāne-Ansberga.

The Director General acknowledged that the battles of the applicants in the public space had put pressure on the commission, however, she had no doubts about the objectivity of the decision.

The service admits that the choice of the operator could be appealed by the second applicant, but whether this will jeopardize the introduction of the deposit system by the statutory date of 1 February 2022, Baklāne-Ansberga did not want to predict.

CONTEXT:

The State Environmental Service (SES) received two applications in the tender for the implementation of the deposit system and at the end of October took a decision on the compliance of SIA “Depozītapakojuma operators” with regulatory enactments and minimum requirements, later also the application of the applicant SIA “Nulles depozīts” deemed appropriate requirements of regulatory enactments.

In October 2020 approved by the government the rules of the beverage packaging deposit system. The deposit system in Latvia will start operating in February 2022, and its basic principles are set out in law. Knownthat the goods included in the packaging deposit system on store shelves will become ten cents more expensive, because this is exactly how it will be possible to recover by handing over the emptied bottle or can.

Opinions differ on the introduction of a packaging deposit system. Many entrepreneurs have stressed that it would be too expensive and not efficient enough. Environmentalists are divided – The Environmental Club has stated that it does not support a mandatory deposit system, while Green Freedom has emphasized that this would be an important green step.

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