The next major step in the Deposit Return System (SGR): new types of packaging. When will they be accepted?

Sunday, Oct 19, 2025

HotNews

Countries worldwide implement deposit return schemes; Romania shows high collection rates despite rural access issues.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

The Romanian Minister of Environment confirmed that various solutions are being studied to introduce new types of packaging into recycling systems. International examples show different countries have expanded their deposit-return schemes (DRS) over time, including Sweden, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Norway, the Netherlands, and Ireland, which saw a significant increase in recycling rates after implementing its DRS in 2024. France is piloting a DRS for glass bottles starting in March 2025. Other countries like Poland (starting October 1, 2025) and Hungary have also launched or are launching similar systems. The EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive mandates high collection rates for plastic beverage bottles by 2029. Romania has seen significant success with its DRS since its official launch in November 2023, achieving high recycling rates, though it faces challenges such as low rural coverage and some fraud. Efforts are also underway to increase the number of reverse vending machines (RVMs) in rural areas.

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