“Our activity in 2023 aimed at achieving five main objectives: reaching the 65 percent collection target, contributing to the circular economy, contributions to improving the legislative framework in the field of WEEE in Romania and the EU, developing the collection infrastructure, information and awareness campaigns,” said Valentin Negoita, president of ECOTIC.

“The first objective was achieved by collecting 72,685 tons of WEEE, which led to a total volume of 395,000 tons in the period 2008-2023, a record for Romania.

Another laborious activity is our contribution to the debates regarding the amendment of GEO 5/2015, the normative act that governs the WEEE field in Romania.

Our proposals, together with those of the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Forests and the Commission for the Environment and Ecological Balance, have contributed to updating the legislation in line with the principles of the circular economy and the realities of current activity in the WEEE market.

A particular success, in this context, is the reduction of the AFM penalty for not reaching the collection target, i.e. the reduction of the contribution from 4 lei/kg to 2 lei/kg starting in June 2023.

The development of the collection infrastructure has been a constant concern, both for the increase in the number of own collection points at the national level (over 10,000), and for the appearance of voluntary waste collection centers (CAV) financed by PNRR starting with 2024.

In this sense, ECOTIC ran the Steps for urban mining project, financed by Norway Grants, through which we realized a transfer of Norwegian know-how to the operators of future CAV-type centers in Romania.

Achieving these objectives was possible through constant dialogue and collaboration with environmental authorities, manufacturers, retailers, collection and recycling operators, as well as communication and promotion partners.”