The Romanian shoppers could pay a RON 2 (EUR 0.43) security for products packaged in recyclable materials, according to an ordinance project currently under debate.

The project aims to bring amendments to the current waste management legislation in a move to improve the waste management in the country, Agerpres reported. It also aims to change Romania from a country of waste into one of recycling, according to the environment minister Graţiela Gavrilescu.

The RON 2 security would be recovered once the packaging is returned to the store. As such, stores would be compelled to receive the reusable packaging and refund the security to the shopper. Only the obligation to label the packaging as reusable or not currently exists.

The ministry also outlined another project, “Pay for what you dump.” It stipulates that the population would pay only for non-recyclable waste, thus lowering the costs of sanitation, help with bringing recyclable materials back into the economic circuit, and decrease the quantity of waste deposited, minister Gavrilescu explained.

At the same time, the local public authorities are compelled to provide the selective waste collection at least for paper, metal, plastic and glass waste in municipal waste. By the end of 2020, these need to be able to recycle and reuse a minimum of 50% of the total generated waste, at least for paper, metal, plastic and glass waste coming from domestic waste.

The project is under public debate on the website of the Environment Ministry until February 15.

As an EU member state, Romania needs to achieve by 2020 a recycling rate of minimum 50% of the total waste, and a 60% level of use of packaging waste of the total packaging introduced on the local market, among others. At the same time, it would have to achieve a yearly collected electronic waste quantity of 4 kg per inhabitant, and collect bio-waste separately for composting and fermentation.

At present, Romania processes through composting 124,717 tons of organic waste per year, according to data from the Romanian Compost Association, quoted by Agerpres. This is only 8.7% of the total existing processing capacity of 1.5 million tons.

In April of 2017, the European Commission decided to take Romania to the Court of Justice of the EU for failing to review and adopt its national waste management plan and waste prevention program in line with the objectives of the EU Waste Framework Directive.

Romanians generate the lowest amount of waste in EU

editor@romania-insider.com