Deposit-return system in Romania: Second regional packaging sorting center opens in Timiș county

RetuRO, the administrator of the deposit-return system - SGR - in Romania, opened the second regional packaging and sorting center on February 7. Located in Giarmata, Timiș county, in western Romania, the facility covers roughly 4,400 sqm within an industrial park and cost nearly EUR 4 million, according to environment minister Mircea Fechet.

Seventeen such centers are to be opened in Romania, and the first one was inaugurated in Bonțida, Cluj county, at the end of November 2023.

“The warehouse, worth almost EUR 4 million, with an area of 4,400 square meters, will operate within the Global Vision Industrial Park and will create, in the first phase, 35 jobs for people in the area,” minister Fechet said.

Beverage packaging collected through the deposit-return system will be recycled at the new center. Glass packaging will be counted, broken, and prepared for recycling, the official also explained.

According to a RetuRO press release quoted by Economica.net, the center can process approximately 8 million packages per month.

Under the deposit-return system, people pay a RON 0.5 deposit when buying a beverage and get their money back only when they return the bottle, plastic, or aluminum packaging at points set up by retailers. To be returned, the packaging must be intact, not degraded, and not deformed (broken, flattened, or pressed) so that it can be scanned by shape and size by automatic collection machines or counting and sorting equipment.

Starting with July 1, 2024, only packaging inscribed with the SGR logo and the specific barcode can be introduced on the market, according to minister Mircea Fechet.

(Photo source: Facebook/Ministerul Mediului)