Study: Average Romanian city dweller recycles less than half of household waste, selective recycling still a small fraction

Only about 6 percent of the recyclable waste in Romanian cities are selectively recycled, according to a recent study by Eco-Rom Ambalaje. There is a big difference between the quantity of waste across Romanian cities and villages, and the amount of waste which is recyclable. A Romanian city dweller generates around 346 kilograms of household waste a year, our of which only 39 percent can be recycled, while the amount is 3.5 times lower for rural Romanians – only 95 kilograms of household waste a year, out of which half can be recycled. Cities have another problem in what concerns waste: even if selective recycling bins have become more frequent in large Romanian cities, the average Romanian city dweller selectively recycles only about 8.4 kilograms of waste out of the estimated 346 kilograms of waste a year. The rest of about 94 percent of waste is sent to the collective recycling bins. Most citizens know that paper, plastic and glass are recyclable waste, the study revealed. Packaging makes half of the recyclable waste but only 18 percent of the total waste generated by a Romanian who lives in the city – a total of 65 kilograms of packaging a year. Eco Rom Ambalaje's study was carried out between September 2012 and August 2013 to highlight whether the targets in the Waste Law – Law 211/2011 are achievable and to determine what kind of waste Romanians generate. The company holds the Green Point license in Romania, to which over 2,500 companies are affiliated, and offers its recycling services to companies which are obliged to recycle packaging. The company also offers a selective recycling system in 450 Romanian localities, offering access to this system to nine million Romanians. editor@romania-insider.com