Amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and economic instability, the European Union’s reliance on imported raw materials has become a pressing issue. Between 2014 and 2023, Romania doubled its imports of recyclable raw materials from non-EU countries, increasing from approximately 448,000 tons to over 910,000 tons, according to Eurostat data analyzed by Clean Recycle.

Similarly, imports from EU countries also rose during this period, from over 462,000 tons to more than 765,000 tons.

These imported materials primarily fall into five categories: plastic, paper and cardboard, precious metals, iron and steel and non-ferrous metals (copper, aluminum, and nickel).

However, EU countries still import more raw materials than they export, contributing to a €35.5 billion trade deficit in 2021, according to Clean Recycle’s analysis.

The EU currently imports nearly half of the raw materials it consumes.

A solution to reduce reliance on imported recyclable raw materials is to move to a circular economy model, to extend the life cycle of products.

Thus, residual materials are recycled and reintegrated into the economy as new raw materials – called “secondary raw materials”, which can have numerous benefits, both for the environment and for increasing the security of raw material supply.

“It is important, first of all, that our country accelerates the transition to a circular economy. This shift would protect the country from fluctuations in raw material prices, including recyclable materials. Equally important is investing in recycling infrastructure to increase exports. For instance, expanding the number of recycling centers, re-extracting raw materials, and improving separate waste collection for households are critical steps”, says Cosmin Monda, founder and CEO of Clean Recycle.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution in February 2021, aiming to achieve a fully circular, carbon-neutral, sustainable and toxic-free economy by 2050.

On average, each European generates 180 kilograms of packaging waste per year.

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. Clean Recycle manages a portfolio of over 800 companies that produce and market packaging waste accross Romania, operating in sectors such as FMCG and retail, agribusiness, automotive, distribution, industrial production, pharmaceuticals and more.