Romania becomes the 13th country to join the Close the Glass Loop initiative, thus joining other national platforms from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom United. The national platform will be coordinated by the Circular Economy Coalition – CERC, an organization that brings together the main actors involved in Romania’s transition to a circular economy.
This decision comes as a result of the European conference organized by CERC in partnership with the Close the Glass Loop platform. The “Action Plan for the Circularity of Glass Packaging in Romania” event took place at the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, on March 14, 2024.
By introducing in Romania the Deposit – Return System (DRS) at the end of November 2023, a new mechanism was created for the collection of beverage packaging, including glass ones. In this context, representatives of the local and European glass packaging recycling and production industry, of the central and local authorities in Romania, as well as the other relevant actors (retailers, bottlers, extended producer responsibility implementation organizations) came together to discuss the most effective methods of increasing the collection and recycling of glass packaging waste in Romania.
At the opening of the event, the Minister of Environment, Water and Forests from Romania, Mircea Fechet, said: “The introduction of the Warranty – Return System represents a turning point for Romania. We welcome the Circular Economy Coalition’s decision to join the Close the Glass Loop initiative, which will accelerate the achievement of our ambitious glass collection and recycling targets, based on best practices in the European Union.”
Commenting on this decision, Constantin Damov, the president of the Circular Economy Coalition, emphasized: “With the introduction of the Deposit – Return System in Romania, we are entering a new and decisive phase for the circularity of packaging, which will, of course, have an immediate and on glass packaging. That is why we will continue and strengthen the collaboration with municipalities and organizations implementing extended producer responsibility, to also stimulate the collection of glass packaging from the municipal stream. With a strong glass packaging industry and a dynamic value chain ready to reintroduce glass waste into the economic cycle, Romania has a very high potential for closing the loop. We are happy to join the Close the Glass Loop initiative to share our experience and learn from our European partners.”
On behalf of the Close the Glass Loop platform, FERVER (European Federation of Glass Recyclers) Secretary General Olivier Deweerdt said: “The exchange of best practices between national platforms is at the heart of the Close the Glass Loop commitment. We are ready to support CERC and all its partners in promoting the collection and recycling of glass in Romania, to reach the 90 percent glass waste collection target for recycling by 2030. Being a material with permanent qualities, glass can be endlessly recycled without losing its intrinsic properties. This means that once collected, the glass has immediate value for the circular economy.”
By sharing best practices between national platforms and promoting joint initiatives in the separate collection of glass packaging from the residential and commercial sectors, but also by supporting investments with high returns of recycling glass into new glass packaging (bottle to bottle), Close the Glass Loop aims to mobilize all relevant actors to reach the European Union’s 90 percent collection target by 2030 (up from the 80.1 percent rate achieved in 2021).
