Turkey rolls out manual recycling return points in Denizli

ART Group has launched a manual return point system for the national deposit management scheme in Denizli, aiming to eliminate queues at automated machines. Under the coordination of the Turkish Environmental Agency and the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the scheme equips local shops, kiosks, cafés and muhtarlık offices with handheld terminals. Operators receive 50 kuruş for each returned container, while citizens earn a 1 TL incentive deposited instantly into an electronic wallet. Each manual point can process up to 3,000 items per day.

The pilot covers Denizli and will expand to Kütahya, Afyonkarahisar and Uşak. ART Group’s chairman Gökhan Dursun noted a 50 % increase in the number of deposit‑return machines and the deployment of roughly one thousand handheld terminals. The collected containers are sealed and sent to counting verification centres, after which payments are transferred to the participating businesses and muhtars. The initiative is presented as a step to boost recycling rates and improve the efficiency of the deposit system.