Plastic and other packaging pollution has become pervasive worldwide. In Europe alone, more than 25 million tons of plastic waste are generated every year, yet less than 30% of such waste is collected or recycled. The Single-Use Plastics Directive requires member states to separately collect 77% of single-use plastic bottles with caps and lids by 2025, with an ultimate target of 90% by 2029.
New rules for recycling beverage containers in Romania: plastic, glass or metal
Experts say it will be difficult to impossible to achieve the targets of the Single-Use Plastics Directive without a deposit return system in place, and these systems are also an effective way to address beverage container waste and litter. In October 2021, the Romanian government approved a decision regulating the deposit return system for single-use primary packaging, according to which consumers will pay a 0.50 RON deposit when they buy beverages from retailers. Consumers will receive their deposit back when they bring the empty beverage containers to one of the return points for recycling. Romania’s deposit return system will cover single-use beverage packaging in glass, plastic or metal, with volumes between 0.1 and 3 liters.
Producers, importers, distributors and retailers are preparing for the changes to their operations. TOMRA, the leading global company in reverse vending technology for deposit return systems, is ready to help Romanian retailers and other stakeholders as they prepare for the upcoming deposit system. TOMRA opened an office in Romania in 2021 and already has a national service network ready to support stakeholders who will operate the return points.
“In Romania we have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to change the direction and to learn from what has already been successfully tested and implemented in other countries. Retailers, manufacturers and local public authorities can make the deposit return system a success story by adopting proven practices and best-in-class technology,” says Dorin Mihai, General Manager of TOMRA Romania.
The first TOMRA machines were installed in Romania starting in 2012 to support a voluntary project and since then have collected more than half a billion (571 million) plastic bottles, 63 million aluminium cans and 34 million glass bottles.
