| Law Summary | Government Emergency Ordinance No. 1074/2018 |
| Date Implemented | November 30, 2023 |
| Containers Covered |
Containers between 0.1L and 3L made of:
|
| Beverages Covered |
|
| Amount of Deposit |
0.50 RON |
| Fees and Taxes |
- |
| Recovery System | Return to retail (manual and RVMs) |
| Unredeemed Deposits | - |
| Program Success |
Milestones achieved in the first year of operation:
|
Details
In 2018, Romania passed laws for the general framework of a deposit return system. After working on regulations and identifying a system operator, Romania launched its DRS on November 20, 2023. At its introduction, Romania's deposit return system became the largest centralized deposit return system with over 80,000 return points for consumers. [2] The system operator is ReturRO, which is a consortium of private beverage producers and retailers with minor participation from the Romanian Ministry of Environment, Water, and Forests. [3]
Consumers may return most beverage containers between 0.1L and 3L for a 0.50 RON deposit at most retailers and common return points. Retailers under 200 square meters are exempt from accepting containers at their location, but must participate in a common return point if they do not operate their own return point. Consumers may receive their deposit back in cash (manual collection only), store voucher, or bank transfer. [4]
In first year of the program, 3.5 billion beverage containers were collected and more than 230,000 tons of materials were diverted from the landfill. 7 centers have been established for counting and sorting. Over 800 jobs were created due to the implementation of DRS. It is estimated that 90% of Romanians have returned containers at least once, and 6 out of 10 Romanians actively participate in the program.
Footnotes
[1] "First 14 Months of Romania's Deposit Return Scheme marked by success." Waste Dive. February 10, 2025.
[2] "TOMRA welcomes today’s launch of Romania’s deposit return scheme." TOMRA Systems ASA. November 30, 2023.
[3] "Romania is launching the deposit return system, using Sensoneo's IT Solution." Šušová, Martina. Sensoneo. November 30, 2023.
[4] "Q&A (for consumers)." ReturRO. Last accessed January 4, 2024.
[5] See Footnote 1.
Last Updated on February 10, 2025.