Starting January 1, 2025, Romania’s national overall recovery target for packaging waste will increase from 65 percent to 70 percent, while the recycling target will rise from 60 percent to 65 percent, according to official data analyzed by Clean Recycle.
The recycling target for paper and cardboard increases from 70 percent to 75 percent, for plastics and aluminum from 40 percent to 50 percent, for glass and ferrous metals from 65 percent to 70 percent, and for wood from 20 percent to 25 percent.
These new objectives align with European Union requirements and represent a firm commitment to reducing the environmental impact of waste while taking a significant step toward a circular economy.
In Romania, only 38.31 percent of packaging waste is recycled, according to the latest data published by the National Institute of Statistics, referring to 2021, as analyzed by Clean Recycle.
“National and local authorities, as well as the business sector, play a crucial role in implementing the measures necessary to achieve these ambitious targets. At the same time, the population must adopt a responsible consumption model, reducing the amount of packaging waste generated and practicing separate collection or recycling as much as possible. Until recently, society as a whole has taken a superficial approach to this issue, but we can no longer continue like this. Moreover, we must consider the “legacy” we leave for future generations”, says Cosmin Monda, founder and CEO of Clean Recycle.
A total of 26 new recycling factories are planned for construction in Romania, funded through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). These factories are expected to be operational by June 2026, with total funding of approximately EUR 220 million.
In the first 10 months of 2024, Clean Recycle managed over 100,000 tons of packaging waste for its portfolio of more than 800 clients, with 5 percent of the waste being recovered through incineration.
Clean Recycle is one of the top 5 players in the local market for the transfer of responsibility regarding packaging waste (OIREP), taking over the obligation of reporting the collection and recovery of packaging and packaging waste placed on the market by producers and importers.
