20 Nov 2023 --- Romania is introducing a deposit-refund scheme (DRS) for beverage bottles at the end of this month. The day-to-day system that drives the country’s ecological transition is said to be “perfectly in tune” with the “codes of the circular economy,” according to national DRS company RetuRo. Consumers will receive the equivalent of €0.10 (US$0.11) for each bottle returned. The project has been repeatedly postponed due to pressure from retailers, who were not ready to integrate the process into their operations. Initially, it was due to be rolled out from January 2021, before being postponed until October 1, 2022. A group of beverage associations, producers and traders established company RetuRo to manage a guarantee-return system. Later, it also adopted the Romanian state as a shareholder.
