More delays in Romania’s deposit-return system for beverages packaging

After multiple delays, Romanian consumers were supposed to pay a mandatory deposit of RON 0.50 (approx. ten Euro cents) for each bottled beverage they buy after October 1, 2022, and recover the money on the return of the packaging to retailers - according to Government Decision 1074/2021 (endorsed in October 2021).

The deposit-return system suffered another setback - seven years after the first law envisaging such a system was enacted.

Initially, the deadline for enforcement was January 2021. It was only in August 2022 when the Romanian Government passed a decision by which the company that manages the deposit-return system (DRS) for non-reusable primary packaging (ReturnRo Sistem Garanție Returnare) was set up.

The Green-Report NGO estimates that the system implementation could take around 18 months, as ReturnRo needs to tick various administrative procedures, including financing, signing about 100,000 contracts, and purchasing collection equipment, Economedia.ro reported.

Under the system, all retailers selling beverages bottled in DRS packaging to end consumers (stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets) will have to establish return points for the collection of DRS packaging. Retailers whose commercial premises are smaller than 200 m2 will be allowed to partner with other retailers or local administration. Companies operating return points will be entitled to receive a fee for the management thereof, which will be paid by the DRS Administrator for each piece of DRS packaging.

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