ROMANIA JOINS CLOSE THE GLASS LOOP
Brussels & Bucharest, 21 March 2024
Romania becomes the 13th country to join Close the Glass Loop, joining ranks with other national platforms in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The national platform will be coordinated by the Circular Economy Coalition (CERC), an organisation bringing together the main stakeholders involved in the transition towards a circular economy in Romania.
This decision comes after a high-level event organised jointly by CERC and Close the Glass Loop in the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest on the 14th of March 2024, entitled “Towards a Close the Glass Loop Action Plan for Romania”. Following the introduction of a Deposit-Return System in Romania covering all beverages at the end of 2023, this event brought together glass manufacturers, recyclers, brands, distributors, retailers, extended producer responsibility schemes, the national deposit system, local and national authorities, as well as financial institutions, to discuss how to best improve and increase glass collection and recycling in Romania.
The Romanian Minister for the Environment, Waters and Forests, Mr Mircea Fechet, who introduced the event, declared: “The introduction of a Deposit-Return System is a game-changer for Romania and we welcome the decision by the Circular Economy Coalition to join Close the Glass Loop, as this will further enhance the successful implementation of our ambitious objectives for glass collection and recycling by drawing on best practices across the European Union”.
Commenting on the decision, Constantin Damov, President of the Circular Economy Coalition, emphasized: “We are entering a new and decisive phase for the circular economy of beverages with the introduction of a Deposit-Return System in Romania, which will of course have a major impact on the circular economy of glass packaging. But we should not forget that glass packaging is more than just beverages, which means we will need to continue our work with municipalities and extended producer responsibility schemes to ensure all glass packaging is collected for recycling in Romania. With a local glass manufacturing industry and a dynamic value chain ready to bring collected glass back into the loop, there is a lot of potential for closing the glass loop in Romania, which is why we are proud to join Close the Glass Loop, to share our experiences and learn from others”.
On behalf of Close the Glass Loop partners, the Secretary General of FERVER (European Glass Recyclers’ Federation) Olivier Deweerdt, stated: “Exchange of best practice between national platforms is at the core of our commitment at Close the Glass Loop. We stand ready to support the CERC and all of its partners in pushing up glass collection and recycling in Romania, to help us achieve our target of 90% glass collection for recycling by 2030. As a permanent material, glass can be recycled endlessly without loss of its intrinsic properties. This means that when it is collected, it has an immediate value for the circular economy”.
By sharing best practices between national platforms, and by promoting joint initiatives in the separate collection of glass packaging from households and the hospitality sector, as well as supporting investments that maximise glass recycling outputs towards closed loop glass packaging, Close the Glass Loop aims to mobilise all the relevant stakeholders towards achieving a 90% glass collection for recycling rate in the EU by 2030 – up from the rate of 80,1% achieved in 2021.
All information on the national platform in Romania will be made available on our Close the Glass Loop website: Romania – Close The Glass Loop