Evolution of the Deposit Return System in the first seven months after the implementation of the program
RetuRO, the administrator of the Deposit Return System, the largest circular economy project in Romania, announced the system's evolution and results seven months after the program was implemented locally.
The Deposit Return System has developed steadily in the seven months since its implementation, with monthly figures rising. Consumers returned 350 million DRS packaging in June, 41% more than in May. The collection rate was 50% in June.
In total, 862 million DRS packs were returned by consumers between December 2023 and June 2024, and more than 2.7 billion DRS packs had been put on the market by the end of June.
"The excellent results recorded by DRS in the seven months since the program started in Romania show that Romanians trust the system and consider it a useful tool for recycling. Consumers have got into the habit of returning used beverage containers to retailers, which we are pleased about. The DRS is producing the expected effects, and we have the support of all partners involved in the scheme - authorities, producers, and retailers. We are focused on achieving the program's objective to contribute to increasing the recycling rate in Romania and to have a cleaner environment. The Romanian Deposit Return System is a complex process, being the largest fully integrated system globally and the second largest in Europe after Germany. It was to be expected that we would also face challenges, seeing similar experiences to other countries that have introduced the system. It takes around 18 months for such a system to reach maturity", says Gemma Webb, CEO and Chairman of the RetuRO Board.
Kantar's most recent survey of a representative sample of consumers, conducted in June this year, shows a significant increase in the number of those who have already adopted the Deposit Return System. 4 out of 5 Romanians have returned DRS packaging at least once, a significant increase from March when half of the respondents said they had done so. According to the same survey, consumers' perception of RetuRO as the administrator of the largest national circular economy project in the environmental area has also improved. 81% of Romanians perceive RetuRO as a company that gets involved and gives them the necessary levers to recycle. The awareness of the DRS among the population has also continued to grow, with 98% of those surveyed now aware of the system.
Currently, 4,000 RVMs (automated collection machines for DRS packaging) are available nationwide. Through the circular economy approach, RetuRO ensures the return of materials to the market and the transparency of the material's journey through the entire chain, from when it is placed on the market and collected to when it enters the recycling stations. In the first seven months since the implementation of the system in Romania, RetuRO has handed over 49,000 tons of DRS packaging to recyclers, representing about 85% of the amount of packaging returned and collected from consumers.
Today, more than 1,000 means of transport are involved in the daily collection of DRS packaging, making 2,000 trips.
Currently, 75,000 economic operators are registered in the DRS, half of which have already signed contracts with RetuRO and can organize return points.
RetuRO currently has five regional RetuRO counting and sorting centres operational in Romania: in the counties of Bacău (Nicolae Bălcescu), Brasov (Brasov), Cluj (Bonțida), Ilfov (Otopeni) and Timis (Giarmata). Together with the centers that RetuRO operates with partners in several areas of the country, these can process almost 6 billion packages annually. RetuRO will open five more regional centers in Dolj, Prahova, Suceava, Bihor and Constanța by the end of this year. Launching new packaging counting and sorting centers remains a priority for RetuRO in the coming months. By the end of the year, more than 500 green jobs will be created in sorting and counting centers across the country.
RetuRO Return Guarantee System S.A. is a company operating on a not-for-profit basis – which means that any profit made by the company from the collection of beverage containers will be reinvested exclusively in the development of DRS. The company was created by a consortium of three private shareholders: the Brewers of Romania Association for the Environment (30%), the Association of Soft Drinks Producers for Sustainability (30%) and the Association of Retailers for the Environment (20%) and a public shareholder, the Romanian state, through the central environmental authority, the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests (20%).
RetuRO, the DRS administrator, operates with exclusively private financing and ensures transparency on the quantities of beverage containers placed on the market and returned by consumers. It contributes to Romania's sustainable development through responsible management of container waste and aims to achieve the recycling targets imposed on Romania by the European Union.
* This is a press release.
