CIRCULARITY
The benefits of DRS While the environmental improvements of DRS might be the first that come to mind , the system ’ s benefits extend far further to include :
Culture and consumer engagement “ There are a number of benefits from the DRS , including the culture that ’ s created by partnerships between industry players , retailers and the government . It is also the enthusiasm that it gives consumers . It is definitely going to be reflected in what you see in the country in terms of protecting nature and the environment .” Marcel Martin
Economic value and green jobs “ I am hoping that DRS will also bring lot of capital in new investments for new technologies and develop investments that will generate green jobs . This is a great story for Romania and a great story for the Romanian circular economy .” Mircea Fechet
DRS
• Seven counting and sorting centres across the country
• More than three billion containers returned in one year
Deposit Return System
THE FIRST YEAR OF DRS IN ROMANIA IN STATISTICS
Transparency “ One of the benefits is you have complete transparency of the system , from putting the product on the market , through to collection , sorting , counting , right to the recyclers .” Gemma Webb
Global potential “ I believe that this example has to be spread around other countries . They can look at the complexity of our system and build on our learnings . I believe that this can be an example for all the DRS in the world , not only in Europe .” Mihaela Frăsineanu
• In October 2024 , 84 % of containers sold in the market were returned through the scheme
• 200,000 tonnes of packaging recycled in one year
• 98 % of Romanias are aware about DRS
• 6 out of 10 Romanians regularly return the packaging to collection points
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