“EPR Operator” will no longer charge a recycling fee! The corresponding resolution was adopted in the Government. The company’s assets were transferred to the ownership of the state. Over the five years of operation, the amount of recycling fee payment has totaled more than 614 billion tenge (US$1.4 billion).
“The execution of the administrative functions of extended producer responsibility was transferred to the state organization – Zhasyl Damu JSC,” – the government’s press service explained.
Kazakh citizens have long been opposed to the recycling fee for cars approved in the country and even launched a corresponding petition that was signed by around 200,000 people. Experts believe that the recycling fee should not exceed 100,000 tenge (US$228). However, they predict that even with the revision of its tariffs, cars are unlikely to become cheaper.
“Unfortunately, current trends on prices of cars generally grow from 15 to 30 percent per year. Prices are rising anyway. This is due to the global economic situation, with an increase in price of metals, and shortage of electronics and components. The fact that the recycling fee is reduced will help them grow not as much as before,” Eduard Edokov, Chairperson of the Kazakhstan’s Independent Drivers Union said.
“Removal of the recycling fee will not solve the problem of importing old-style cars,” believes Chairman of the Road Safety NGO ‘Common Roads’ Arsen Shakuov. “That is, we need to create better preferential programs for the population so that people can buy new cars. Because now the population cannot go beyond certain limits. They prefer to buy inexpensive and expensive cars from abroad. Our task is to ensure that the citizens of our country, when buying new cars, are sure that the state will help them financially. Our goal is to create preferential programs for large families, single mothers, and people with disabilities”.
Translation and editing by Saniya Sakenova
