RetuRO, the administrator of the Deposit Return System, the largest circular economy project, has opened opening the sixth regional centre for counting and sorting DRS packaging in Almăj, Dolj County, near Craiova. The centre will manage, and process beverage packaging collected from retailers. It will mainly serve the southern part of the country.
Located within the Global Vision industrial park, the new RetuRO centre integrates high-performance equipment to ensure an efficient sorting and counting process for all DRS packaging types. With an area of approximately 6,000 square meters, the centre in Dolj County has an annual counting capacity of approximately 280 million DRS packages and a sorting and processing capacity by material type (PET, metal, glass) of over 820 million DRS packages.
“We are now more than eight months since the implementation of the Deposit Return System in Romania, and the progress so far is remarkable. The DRS is proving to be an effective tool for supporting recycling efforts. Returning beverage packaging has become a recurring practice for consumers, reflecting a growing understanding of the scheme and an appreciation of its environmental benefits. Continued expansion of our infrastructure is essential to meet the evolving needs of the system and increasing recycling rates. By the end of this year, we plan to open four more new centres in Prahova, Suceava, Oradea and Constanta. The selection of the areas in which we operate through regional centres aims for strategic coverage of the entire country and access to essential DRS infrastructure,” says Gemma Webb, CEO and Chairman of the RetuRO Board of Directors.
The opening of the RetuRO centre in Dolj will create 120 jobs locally.
In the eight months since its implementation, the Deposit Return System has developed steadily, with monthly figures rising. In July this year, according to preliminary data, consumers returned 470 million DRS packs, 35 percent more than in June.
In total, producers put 3,5 billion DRS packaging on the market in the first 8 months of the program, of which more than 1,3 billion were returned by consumers. 75.000 tons of materials, representing about 83 percent of the collected packaging, have been directed to recycling facilities, the last stage of this complex mechanism, thus confirming the effective functioning of the Deposit Return System.
