The Minister of Environment, Mircea Fechet, was present at the opening of the first center for counting and sorting beverage packaging in Romania, established by the RetuRO company, in Bontida, Cluj County.

“The Bontida center will be one of those centers that will count the 7 billion aluminum cans, bottles and PETs that we will have to manage every year and I can only be optimistic today, three days before of the launch of the deposit return system, which starts on November 30. This center is an investment that uses the latest technologies and I think we are ready: we have legislation, we have the IT system. I’m optimistic and I’m looking forward to starting the recycling season”, said Minister Mircea Fechet.

The Deposit-Return System (DRS) will be implemented starting from November 30, 2023. Through it, Romanians will pay a guarantee of 0.50 RON when they buy a drink (water, soft drinks, beer, cider, wine, spirits) from a merchant. The system applies to non-reusable primary packaging made of glass, plastic, or metal, with volumes between 0.1 l and 3 l inclusive. To be easily identified, the products that will be part of the system will be marked with a specific logo.

After emptying the packaging, the consumer will have to bring it to one of the return points organized by merchants, practically in any store in Romania. In exchange for the empty packaging, the consumer will receive back, on the spot, the value of the originally paid guarantee, without the need to present the tax receipt and even if the said product was not bought from that location.