Romanian authorities may have to make selective waste collection mandatory as of 2016, according to a recent emergency ordinance draft.

Trying to mirror EU legislation regarding selective waste collection, Romanian authorities would thus be required to provide the conditions to separately collect plastic, metal, paper and glass.

Initially the deadline to comply with EU waste collection regulations was 2012, but it was pushed to no later than end of 2015.

Despite the existence of some selective waste collection bins across major Romanian cities, only 12 percent of household waste is selectively recycled. The percentage was up from 1 percent in 2009, but selective recycling is still far from gaining a foothold in the Romanian society.

Materials resulting from selective recycling are currently used by waste collection operators and some authorized companies.

But 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.

editor@romania-insider.com