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Romania has recently made significant strides in recycling through the introduction of a groundbreaking deposit return scheme (DRS) for drink bottles and cans. This initiative, regarded as the largest centralised DRS globally, is managed through a unique public-private partnership under the company RetuRO. Only a year ago, Romania ranked at the very bottom of European circularity indexes, with a mere 1.3% of production materials derived from recycled sources. The success of this scheme signals a promising step toward improving those numbers.
The system, launched in 2023, involves collaboration among retailers, beverage producers, brewers, and the Romanian Department of Environment, all of whom hold shares in the not-for-profit partnership. Consumers pay a small deposit of 0.50 Romanian leu (approximately £0.09) when purchasing bottles or cans and reclaim the deposit by returning empty containers via reverse vending machines located in stores. According to RetuRO’s CEO Gemma Webb, the transformation has been remarkable: “You go to Romania now, you don’t see a bottle anywhere. It was the impossible made possible. Everybody’s very proud.”
An additional feature of this scheme is the collection of recyclables during home deliveries by supermarkets, with customers receiving credits for participating. The collected waste is sorted and sold to recycling firms, which then supply manufacturers such as Pepsi and Heineken with recycled materials. Addressing concerns around waste export and illegal dumping, Webb emphasizes full traceability within the scheme. “For every tonne we sell to recyclers, we get a certificate to show it’s actually recycled, and we audit them as well,” she stated. This stringent oversight aims to ensure a genuine closed loop, pursuing a “bottle-to-bottle and can-to-can” circular economy.
Despite the challenges posed by transport costs, Romania’s DRS includes glass containers, which is relatively uncommon in similar models. Studies indicate strong public participation, with 90% of the population having used the scheme at least once and 60% engaging with it regularly. Over 8 billion containers have been returned so far, including 4.5 billion plastic bottles, contributing more than half a million tonnes of high-quality recycled materials back to producers. While beverage containers only constitute about 5% of Romania’s total waste, meaning the overall recycling rate may see only modest increases, the scheme has garnered attention from neighboring countries like Poland, Turkey, and Bulgaria. Looking ahead, the UK is preparing to roll out its own deposit return scheme in October next year. Webb suggests that the Romanian model provides valuable insights and that Britain might even surpass Romania in establishing the world’s largest centralised system
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