Romania’s deposit return system (DRS) for beverage packaging has achieved a recycling rate of up to 94% in some months, just two years after its launch. The scheme, which applies to PET bottles, aluminium cans and glass containers, has become a routine part of daily life for millions of Romanians, including in rural areas.
Under the system, customers pay an extra 0.50 Romanian leu (about 9p) per container when buying soft drinks or alcoholic beverages, and receive the money back when returning the cleaned packaging to a collection point, usually the same shop. Dana Chitucescu, a 51-year-old from the village of Pianu de Jos in Transylvania, collects bottles weekly and earns around 40 leu, which she says covers food for her seven cats.
RetuRO, the company running the scheme in a public-private partnership, reported that between November 2023 and the end of September 2025, Romanians returned about 7.5 billion containers, including 4 billion PET bottles, 2 billion metal cans and 1.5 billion glass containers. More than 500,000 tonnes of high-quality recyclable materials have been collected. Gemma Webb, RetuRO’s chief executive, described the turnaround as a “zero to hero story”.
Romania previously had one of the lowest recycling rates in the EU, with municipal waste recycling stuck between 11% and 14% from 2011 to 2021, and circular material usage at just 1% in 2021. The government began discussions in 2018, RetuRO started work in 2022, and the scheme launched in late 2023 after building nine counting and sorting centres nationwide.
Raul Pop, secretary of state in the environment ministry, said starting later allowed Romania to use modern software and traceability tools. The system is return-to-retail, with shops required to accept returns via reverse vending machines or manual processing, and they receive financial incentives. A nationwide advertising campaign used the traditional hora dance to symbolise shared responsibility. A recent study found 90% of Romanians have used the system at least once, and 60% return packaging regularly.
Countries including Poland, Turkey, Bulgaria, Moldova and Serbia have consulted RetuRO to learn from Romania’s experience. Romania has also introduced a legal framework allowing fines for retailers that refuse returns, even in small village shops. Plans are underway to expand the system to cover other types of packaging.
