Romania must move to a new way of thinking regarding waste management: everyone must pay for waste they produce, according to Tanczos Barna, the minister of environment, water, and forests.

“That’s why we launched two guidelines for investments within the Waste Management Component of PNRR in public consultation. Thus, the first sub-investment envisages the establishment of collection centers with voluntary contributions, with a budget of 452.2 million euros. The second investment aims to build digitized ecological islands and has a budget of 200.1 million euros,” he said.

Minister Barna explained that the authorities in the urban areas must take the step towards well-developed, intelligent systems that manage information at family level.

“At the same time, the collection of 4-5 fractions on this basis of intelligent systems is the target we want to achieve through the PNNR. Such platforms will be in communities with up to 50,000 inhabitants, at the edge of the urban area. By September 2024, we will have to install at least 250 such centers, and by the end of June 2026, the remaining 565 will be completed,” Minister Barna concluded.