RetuRO opens in Bacău county the fifth center for the collection and processing of SGR packaging
Source：https://www.economica.net/returo-deschide-in-judetul-bacau-cel-de-al-cincilea-centru-pentru-colectarea-si-procesarea-ambalajelor-sgr_760673.html
From：Taiwan Trade Center, Bucharest
Update Time：2024/08/16
RetuRO, the administrator of the Guarantee-Return System, the largest circular economy project in Romania, opens the fifth regional center for counting and sorting SGR packaging in the town of Nicolae Bălcescu, Bacău county. Located within the industrial park ELI Park Bacău, the center will manage and process beverage packaging collected both manually, from merchants, and from return machines (RVMs).
The new center integrates state-of-the-art equipment to ensure an efficient sorting and counting process for all types of packaging included in the Guarantee-Return System. With an area of approximately 8,000 square meters, the center in Bacău county is the second regional hub in the collection infrastructure developed by RetuRO (after the one in Otopeni, Ilfov county), with an annual capacity to count approximately 650 million SGR packages and a sorting and processing capacity by material type (PET, metal, glass) of more than 1.2 billion SGR packages.
"Expanding the infrastructure of sorting and counting centers remains one of our priorities, in the next period, to ensure the optimal functioning of the Guarantee-Return System. Currently, the five operational RetuRO centers together with the counting and sorting centers that we operate with partners in several areas of the country have a cumulative processing capacity of almost 6 billion packages annually. By opening the new RetuRO center, we mark another step in the development of the infrastructure of the largest circular economy project in Romania. In the near future we plan to open new centers in Prahova and Dolj. This expansion will not only facilitate the processing of more packaging, but will also help create jobs and boost the local economy", says Gemma Webb, CEO and Chairman of the Board of RetuRO.
The RetuRO center in Bacău will have 150 employees, in three shifts, and will mainly serve the north-eastern area of the country, as well as the nearby counties.
In the seven months since its implementation, the Guarantee-Return System has been constantly evolving. By the end of June, 2.7 billion SGR packages had been placed on the market by manufacturers, of which more than 850 million had been returned by consumers. Currently, more than 1,000 means of transport are involved in the daily collection process of SGR packaging. Approximately 85% of the amount of packaging collected has already been directed to recycling units, the last stage of this complex mechanism, thus confirming the efficient operation of the Guarantee-Return System.
Through the lens of the circular economy, RetuRO ensures the return of materials to the market, as well as the transparency of the course of these materials along the entire chain, from the moment of placing on the market, collection, until entering the recycling stations.
According to case studies, in countries where the warranty-return system has been implemented, collection rates have increased by up to 90% within two to three years.
RetuRO Sistem Garantie Returnare S.A. (www.returosgr.ro) is a company that operates on the not for profit principle - which means that any profit made by the company following the collection of beverage packaging will be reinvested, exclusively, in the development of SGR. The company was created by a consortium of three private shareholders: the Association of Romanian Brewers for the Environment (30%), the Association of Soft Drink Manufacturers for Sustainability (30%) and the Association of Retailers for the Environment (20%) and a public shareholder, the Romanian state, through the central environmental authority, the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Forests (20%).
RetuRO, the SGR administrator, operates with exclusively private funding and has the role of ensuring transparency on the quantities of beverage packaging placed on the market and returned by consumers, contributing to the sustainable development of Romania, through the responsible management of packaging waste, in order to reach the targets of recycling imposed on Romania by the European Union.
Source: https://www.economica.net/returo-deschide-in-judetul-bacau-cel-de-al-cincilea-centru-pentru-colectarea-si-procesarea-ambalajelor-sgr_760673.html