Romania’s deposit-return system collected more beverage containers in first eight months of 2025 than all of last year

Romanians returned more beverage containers in the first eight months of 2025 than in the whole of 2024, RetuRO, the operator of the country’s deposit-return scheme (SGR), said on Friday, September 26. In August alone, 605 million containers were returned, representing nearly 94% of the packaging placed on the market that month.

Between January and August 2025, consumers brought back around 3.6 billion bottles, cans, and glass containers, equivalent to more than 255,000 tonnes of material delivered to recyclers, according to RetuRO’s latest “barometer” report.

Since the system was launched in November 2023, close to 7 billion deposit-marked containers have been returned in total, amounting to some 500,000 tonnes of PET, aluminium, and glass handed over to recyclers.

With a collection rate of 81% in the first eight months of this year, the deposit-return scheme is helping accelerate Romania’s transition towards a circular economy and driving millions of citizens to adopt more sustainable habits, the operator said.

RetuRO is a not-for-profit company established by a consortium of private shareholders, namely the Brewers of Romania Association for the Environment (30%), the Soft Drinks Producers Association for Sustainability (30%), and the Retailers’ Association for the Environment (20%), alongside a public shareholder, the Romanian state through the Ministry of Environment (20%). Any profit is reinvested in the further development of the scheme.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Ovidiu Micsik)