{"id":4310,"date":"2025-09-15T11:57:47","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T11:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sustainability-today.ro\/?p=4310"},"modified":"2025-09-15T11:58:25","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T11:58:25","slug":"circular-economy-still-seen-as-an-obligation-not-an-opportunity-in-romania-says-environmental-guard-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sustainability-today.ro\/index.php\/2025\/09\/15\/circular-economy-still-seen-as-an-obligation-not-an-opportunity-in-romania-says-environmental-guard-chief\/","title":{"rendered":"Circular economy still seen as an obligation, not an opportunity in Romania, says Environmental Guard Chief"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The circular economy is still regarded in Romania more as a matter of obligation than opportunity, said Andrei Corlan, General Commissioner of the National Environmental Guard (GNM), during a conference on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have drawn some conclusions based on our experience and expertise, on information gathered from inspections, and unfortunately, 20 years after signing the EU Accession Treaty, recycling and the circular economy\u2014which we speak about almost daily\u2014are still viewed as obligations, not opportunities. We are losing extremely valuable resources and continue to treat waste as trash. This is why, at the conferences I have attended, discussions have often focused on the impact of the Deposit-Return System and the circular economy. Romania has been part of the European Green Deal since 2019, which essentially sets out the opportunity to open new economic and industrial horizons for sustainability, to promote the green transition, and to make environmental performance a standard exercise in company calculations and business plans,\u201d Corlan stated, Agerpres <\/a>reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also stressed the importance of social responsibility among children and young people in protecting the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeyond coercive measures, where we sanction in order to redirect practices, what we truly need is legislation of quality that reflects practical realities. Alongside the entrepreneurial sector, which should approach environmental protection beyond the perspective of merely a clean environment, social responsibility is highly present among children and youth,\u201d the GNM head added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to GNM data, Romania\u2019s recycling targets have dropped below 10% (down 3.5% compared to the 2022\u20132023 period), which means public policies need to be adjusted based on realities in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cRestart Recycling\u201d<\/strong> campaign focuses on at least three directions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n