Business Forum • 16 July, 2024 at 7:01 PM
RetuRO, the administrator of the Deposit Return System, the largest circular economy project, is opening its fifth counting and sorting center in Nicolae Bălcescu, Bacău County. Located within the ELI Park Bacău industrial park, the center will manage, and process beverage packaging collected both manually by retailers and through Return Vending Machines (RVMs).
The new centre integrates state-of-the-art equipment to ensure an efficient sorting and counting process for all types of packaging enrolled in the Deposit Return System. With an area of about 8,000 square meters, the center in Bacău County is the second regional hub in the collecting infrastructure developed by RetuRO (after the one in Otopeni, Ilfov County). It has an annual counting capacity of about 650 million DRS packaging and a sorting and processing capacity by material type (PET, metal, glass) of over 1.2 billion DRS packaging).
"Expanding the infrastructure of sorting and counting centers remains one of our priorities in the coming period to ensure the optimal functioning of the Deposit Return System. Currently, the five operational RetuRO centers and the counting and sorting centers we operate with partners in several areas of the country can process around 6 billion packages annually. With the opening of the new RetuRO center, we mark another important step in the development of the infrastructure of the largest circular economy project in Romania. We are also planning the opening of new centers in Prahova and Dolj in the near future. While enabling the processing of more packaging, this expansion will also generate new jobs and stimulate the local economy", says Gemma Webb, CEO and Chairman of the RetuRO Board of Directors.
The regional center in Bacău will operate with a team of 150 employees working in three shifts. It will mainly serve the northeastern part of the country and the nearby counties.
Since its implementation seven months ago, the Deposit Return System has evolved steadily. By the end of June, producers had put 2.7 billion DRS packs on the market, of which consumers had returned more than 850 million. Currently, more than 1,000 trucks are operating for the daily collection of DRS packaging. Approximately 85% of the collected packaging has been sent to recycling facilities in the first six months, confirming the effectiveness of the DRS system.
Through the circular economy approach, RetuRO ensures the return of materials to the market and the transparency of their journey from being placed on the market to collection and recycling.
Case studies show that in countries where the Deposit Return System was implemented, collection rates increased up to 90% in two up to three years.